What Do I Give Back
“What shall I return to the Lord for all his goodness to me?”
— Psalm 116:12 (NIV)
The writer had just survived something that nearly killed him. He asks what he can give back, then answers himself in the next line: he lifts the cup of salvation. That was a drink offering poured out at the altar. His answer to being rescued is not a payment. He raises what he was already given and says thank you where people can hear it.
What did you come through in the last year that you have barely mentioned since? You do not owe God anything for it. But it is easy to forget a story you never tell. Tell someone today, even in two sentences.
Raise the Cup
- 1Name one hard season you came through. Say out loud where God was in it, even if you only see it now.
- 2Tell one person the short version. Not the polished testimony, just what happened and that you are still here.
Lord, thank You for bringing me through. Help me say it out loud to someone today.
I will say out loud what I am thankful for.
What is the cup of salvation?
A drink offering poured out at the altar. The psalmist answers his own question by lifting what he was already given rather than paying anything back.
Does God expect repayment?
The psalm's answer is no. What follows is thanksgiving spoken publicly and vows kept, not a debt settled.
Why say it out loud instead of just feeling it?
The psalmist promises to do this in the presence of all God's people. Gratitude that stays private tends to fade quietly.