Verse Text: “What can I give back to God for the blessings he’s poured out on me?”
A lot of our inspiration for songs comes from Scripture. The Book of Psalms is a great source for musicians and writers, and it always seems like there are at least one or two Psalm-songs on our records. “Offering” was one of those. It was written out of a desire to give back to God for all the amazing things he’s done for us.“Magnificent Holy Father/I stand in awe of all I see/Of all the things You have created/But still you choose to think of me.” No doubt God has done a lot to reach each guy in this band. He’s done a lot to bless our families. To look back on all that’s happened, well, we’re simply amazed by God’s faithfulness! We are deeply grateful, and we share that feeling with the Psalmist (v. 1-11). In these verses the writer turns a spotlight on the times he has called out to God and God responded. The way it’s written, you get the impression that God must be awfully familiar with this guy’s voice. Still, God is faithful to hear and respond. This tells us so much about God’s character: He is faithful. He is trustworthy. These verses remind us that whatever situation is pressing down hard on us, we can take it to God for help. Each of us in the band has experienced God hearing our cry. Maybe it was for strength when we’re away from our families. Maybe it’s when we’re privileged to pray with people we meet who are in need. Whatever the case, we are here to tell you: God hears prayer and blesses the lives of his people. But that’s only half the message of Psalm 116. Verses 12-19 reminds us that when someone shows you love, you want to show love back. In a similar way, for all the blessings God’s poured out on us, we are challenged to look for ways to act lovingly toward God. It’s true, we can’t return God’s favor. Only Christ, through his life, death and resurrection, covers us with grace. But, because we love God, we desire to make our lives examples of God’s faithfulness so that others may be freely drawn to his love, too.
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How can we do that? First, we can be witnesses to God’s character: “We lift high the cup of salvation, a toast to God,” says one translation (v. 13). That’s like saying we can look for appropriate ways to express our thankfulness. Prayer is one way, for example. This is God’s two-way messaging system between us and him. Another way is simply telling other people how God has been faithful in our lives. As a band, we try to talk with others about our experiences with God’s faithfulness. A song like “Offering” is intended to do that, too. More often for all of us, it’s just about living like Jesus lived, reaching out to give glimpses of God’s character—at the gas pump, in line at the grocery store, in class at school or wherever.“And I will give you my life/For it’s all I have to give/Because you gave your life for me.” A second way to exemplify God’s faithfulness is to offer our lives to serve others: “We’ll complete what we promised God we’d do, together with the people of God,” (v. 14-19). This is really important. We’re called to put our hands and feet to work, making a difference in the world as God has made a difference our lives. How involved are you? Your church’s outreach ministry is a great place to start. Volunteering at a local soup kitchen or assisting an elderly neighbor works, too. One way we’ve chosen to serve is by getting involved in World Vision, the global relief organization you’ve heard us talk about. Each band member’s family supports a World Vision child, and together we speak often to tell others about this hard-working organization intervening on God’s behalf, giving hope where it is desperately needed. You, too, can support World Vision or whatever group you feel is making a difference in the lives of people who need hope. Sure, your donations help, but your action speaks even louder than your checkbook. How can you get your feet wet in the trenches of hope? The Psalms inspire our music, but more importantly they inspire our Christian walk. In Psalm 116, the writer looks back at his spiritual journey to really notice God intervening along the way. He stops, asking thankfully, “What can I give back to God?” It’s an inspiring moment for us. It causes us to seek ways to make offerings, knowing the character of God can change the world one person at a time.
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