Ready:
“How can I repay the LORD for all the good he has done for me? I will take the cup of salvation and call on the name of the LORD. I will fulfill my vows to the LORD in the presence of all his people.” – Psalm 116:12-14
Set:
If you read all of Psalm 116, the psalmist was in a pretty rough season. He felt as though “ropes of death” were wrapped around him; he was encountering troubles and feeling overcome with sorrow. But then he called on the name of the LORD.
Have you encountered dark times like that before? Maybe your parents went through a nasty divorce, or you’ve experienced a tragic death. Maybe a coach, athlete or teammate hurt you in a way that you’re struggling to forgive. The list could go on of the tragedies we can experience in this life, but the psalmist didn’t get bogged down in those things. After asking the LORD to save him, he went on to speak of the LORD’s character: gracious and righteous, compassionate, protective of the helpless, good.
How can you repay Someone like this? There’s no way we could repay Him, but we can accept what He has graciously given us with gratitude and thankfulness. What is the greatest gift God has given us? Salvation.
Imagine you’re at a ball field and a young boy wanders up to the field dirty, thirsty and with no shoes. Clearly, he hasn’t been taken care of in quite some time. You pick him up and get him some water and clean him up. Unmerited compassion. You provide the cup of desperately needed water for him but only he can choose to receive it. He's thirsty and dependent on you, knowing his need and his inability to meet it himself so he drinks. He receives the water and calls upon the name of the one who gave him the drink. Spoiler alert, later in this story the compassionate parent adopts the child and gives him a home, a new name and a new life. How can we know? Because it is the story of salvation for each of us.
So, we take the cup of salvation and call upon His Name. Like the child at the ball field, we have nothing to offer. We can only accept the gift with gratitude and live a life loving the Rescuer. Love is the only adequate response; it’s how we fulfill our vows to the LORD.
Go:
Are you trying to earn or pay back God’s love with good behavior? How does it free your soul to realize His blessings are entirely unearned gifts?
What does it look like for you to stop striving and simply drink His cup of salvation today?
Workout:
Overtime:
“Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for being a Good Father. Thank you for seeing our neediness and our inability to clean ourselves up and not turning away from us. You walk towards us in compassionate love, and we are undeserving. I will take the cup of salvation and call upon Your Name. I will fulfill my vows to you. Thank You for choosing me despite all my flaws.”