mistake

I came across this passage by mistake this morning and it is still shaking me.

“What shall I render to the Lord for all His benefits toward me?” Ps. 116:12

David is asking a rhetorical question to which he already knows the answer. “What shall I render to the Lord for all His benefits toward me?” The answer is nothing. There is nothing we can return to the Lord for what he has done for us. Upon seeing who God is and what He has done for him, David is in awe at the mercy and grace of God. There is no gift(s) or act(s) of service that can come close to repaying God for His benefits toward us.

I just bought a house a few months ago with borrowed money. So, I could potentially be repaying the bank what I owe it over the next thirty years. It will take a loooooong time but I will pay the bank back. How deceived are we when we think that we can repay God for what He has done. Who are we to think that our efforts alone can appease such a holy God? Oh what a debt we have to pay for our sins and there is no way we can settle this account with God! But when seeing the debt that I owe, God has looked upon the payment of His Son as sufficient for it. Paid in full! Christ has rescued me from darkness (Co. 1:13). Because of His great love and being rich in mercy, while we were dead in our sins and transgressions, God has made us alive together with Christ! (Eph. 2:4).

What shall I render to the Lord for all His benefits toward me? Nothing! There is no sufficient gift for what God has done for us. Knowing that my efforts are useless and empty and that I am nothing without Christ and that all I can do is rest in the grace of God-that's what is shaking me. Our response to this is worship. Worship God for who He is and what He has done and offer a life of thankful obedience. Praise God for His being rich in mercy and great in love and that He does not require us to pay Him back!