Encouragement

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What shall I render unto God for all His mercy?
By: Charlette Payne

What shall I render for payment to God for all His mercy He extends to me? How can I possible pay God back for not casting me out of His sight when I am in sin, disobedient, rebellious, and just plain old defiant? If God were in the business of paying us in kind for the things we do (whether they are good or bad) we would be in big trouble. At least I know I would be. For the simple fact that I know my current bad deeds far outweigh my good deeds. Not that I am in a particularly bad state right now…I am walking upright before God and have no blatant sin in my life. However, that says nothing about the sinful thoughts I have, the sinful things that are still in my heart and the sinful ways I struggle with daily. Not to mention my sinful desires to just do what I want to do. Thankfully, His mercy covers me and I seem to be walking the straight and narrow path. But, not because it is my will to do it but again, His mercy as well as the love I have for Him and the love He has for me which restrains me from pursuing or allowing myself to be overtaken by this sinful nature of mine.

In order to determine what payment can be made for something you have to first assign value to the product you’re receiving. Who can possibly assign value to a life changed by the power of God’s love? The life I used to lead was full of sorrow, condemnation, hatefulness, selfishness, desire to appease the flesh at any and all costs, tormented by bad decisions, and sleepless nights up worrying about tomorrow and the next day, and the next day. Never could I sleep peacefully, nor could I live peaceably. Even the things I did, only brought me temporary pleasure, if any at all. I now know why that was so…because I was not being the ‘me’ God created me to be.

Even though this new life is full of trouble on every hand; attacks by the enemy both physical and mental; criticism by the world for being different and not conforming to its standard; pressure to yield to the daily temptations of the flesh, the eyes, and the memories of former encounters; as well as struggling to subdue and overcome my desires until they are completely changed to God’s desires for me. All these things would appear to be so great a weight to bear but I hear the Lord saying my grace is sufficient for you. I know it is because I continue to go on. God’s love surrounds me, His word strengthens His Great Spirit guides, comforts me, and His mercies are from everlasting to everlasting-everyday brand new mercies I see.

Again I say what shall I render? God has everything in His hands already…the earth and all its fullness; the silver belongs to Him, the gold, the world and they that dwell in it. So what can I possibly give Him that could suffice or even put a dent in the bill that I owe Him? I can give Him my heart without Him having to break it. I can surrender my complete and total will to Him. I can present my body as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto Him which is my reasonable service. I can give Him my mind, my will, and my emotions which are the sum total of my soul. I can give Him my tithes which are my time, talent, and treasure. I can give Him my desires to be washed in the blood of the lamb so they can be used for His glory and not my own. I can give Him all my past mistakes, bad decisions, and shortcomings as a testimony of His goodness of how He has changed my life once and for all. Those are just a few things that come right off the top of my head.

I guess in essence all we can give for payment (which is still not adequate) is our complete self. That’s all God ever wanted was for us to give Him back what He created in His image and likeness. So give it to Him. It may not seem like a lot to you but in the Master’s hand, little becomes much. How else can a mustard seed become a huge tree? How else can a single seed die in the ground and become a tree bearing much fruit? How else could Jesus take 3 fish and 5 loaves of bread and feed 5,000? How else could Jesus take water and make it into wine? Oh ye of little faith. Put yourself in God’s hand and watch Him make you into a miracle. Regardless of what you may think about yourself or what people may say about you. God says you are holy, the seed of righteousness, He calls you beloved. Yes, even now He’s saying those things about you because He knows your beginning from your end. He knows what He has predestined you for. So walk in it and start by giving yourself to Him for payment. Besides, you have nothing else to give Him.

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