Psalm 116

I have a God who hears me. What should I say to Him?

What do I really need today? I need mercy. He is a holy God. I am a sinner saved by His grace. I need that grace again now.

I need deliverance from the power of death. Yesterday could have been my last day on earth, but it was not. I am ready to be with the Lord in heaven. I am eager for more of heaven's society. But the Lord has life for me here for at least another morning. Once again I am healed by the God who gives resurrection life to His children. I am alive, and there is work to do for the glory of His Name.

When my final moment comes on this earth, I will need deliverance from the grave and from the powers of hell. Jesus Christ has provided that for me. He pleads for me with the Father and rescues me from eternal destruction. Though I cannot keep myself alive for even one moment, He has secured for me an unending stream of glorious moments with Him in the society of the redeemed in heaven.

The Lord is gracious, but He is also righteous. If He says that sin deserves death, then a death must be given for my sin if I am to enjoy life with Him in peace. The cross is the only way to accomplish this. Jesus was willing to suffer that for me.

I can't understand the religious systems and the philosophical movements that have shaped the world over many centuries. I am a simple person. I know that the Lord has saved me from death and despair on many occasions. I know that the Lord has given me the gift of faith, and that He has opened up my eyes to the riches of His Word. I know that He has given me the finest examples of faithful living to admire and to follow as they have followed Jesus. I know that He has allowed me to taste at least some of the joys of the life to come through His Holy Spirit. In all of this and more, I am alive, and I am walking in Him.

What can I give back to the Lord for His lavish blessings upon me? I can worship Him. I can seek Him and follow Him every day. I can be a part of the community of the blessed.

I am one of His saints, His holy ones who call upon His Name. I am not even close to perfect. Some of my weaknesses are glaring and very embarrassing. But I also have gifts and graces that have come to me from my heavenly Father.

When I was still in my mother's womb, mom was in a car accident. The Lord kept me through that trouble. When I was just a couple of months old, He rescued me from pneumonia. When I was five years old I walked through a glass door and needed emergency surgery, which happened right on our dining room table. Another deliverance.

When I was in high school, during a time of some inner despair, God showed me a new life of knowing Him, but I soon walked away from that life, and tried to walk away from Him entirely. Years later, He rescued me again together with my wife, and made us a family of faith. He has brought us through many challenges, even the worst trouble that a parent could imagine in the loss of our son.

The day that Sam was born, Psalm 116 was my devotional reading. Now Sam is with the Lord after 22 years on this earth. Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints.

I am still alive today. But one day, I will die. When I die, Jesus will care. He will know. My death is precious in His sight.

I am just one of His saints, one of the members of His vast body throughout the world. He does not love me for this life only. He has kept me from death, both in body and in soul, on many occasions. One day He will bring me to a new life in His presence. That day will be precious in His sight, not because of the loss, but because of the gain. This is what the apostle says. “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”

Yesterday was not the day of my death. I am alive here on earth today to serve Him and to enjoy Him for another day. I have some work to do today. Before I get going, I want to start with what matters most. I want to praise the God who has saved me time and again.

I want to praise the only Lord who is merciful enough and righteous enough to save me from eternal death through His own death. I want to receive the One who assures me that the death of even the least of His saints matters to Him. I want to place my heart in His heart. I want to live. I want to worship the Lord. I want to serve Him forever. One day He will take away every weight that hinders my forward progress toward Him. I will worship and serve Him in a society of perfect praise and love.

I have a God who hears me. What should I say to Him?

“Good morning, Lord! Blessed be Your Name! Thank you for another day of life. Have mercy on me, a sinner and a saint saved by Jesus, the Passover Lamb. Lord Jesus, I will go where you want me to go. I will do what you want me to do. I will say what you want me to say. I am Yours. My life is precious in Your sight. Even my death is precious in Your sight. Thank You for Your love. Amen.”