Call Upon His Name
In Psalm 116:12, David says, “What shall I render to the Lord for all His benefits toward me?” His words were surely foreshadowing the death and resurrection of Jesus on the cross centuries later. He was saying, “What can I possibly give back to the Lord for all the grace and mercy, for the eternal life He has given me?” David realized that he could never pay Jesus back, and thus he added, “I will take up the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the Lord.” That’s an interesting thing to give, and an interesting way to say it. He is saying, “Lord, I will take all that You did for me and lift it up. You stepped down out of heaven and became a man, and You didn’t have to. You gave Your life for me and freely forgave my sin and shame. You rose from the dead and gave me new life and made me a new creation. So I am going to call upon Your name.”
That almost doesn’t make sense because most of us have the mentality that we have to win God’s favor. We feel that we have to do good works so God will approve us. But David says, “What shall I give to the Lord? I’ll give back to Him what He’s given me and live a resurrection life in Him.” David was going to move forward and not let anything stop him from exalting what God had done for him, and we can’t either.
Jesus came to give us an abundant life (John 10:10). He did not come to make us religious. He died and He rose again to bring us into a relationship with Himself. He is the living God, and because He lives, He wants to walk with us, talk with us, and call us by name. He wants us to receive all the benefits of what He has done for us.
So when the enemy tries to cause you to feel guilty and put condemnation on your life, remember the words of David, “I will take up the cup of salvation, and call upon His name.” Don’t ever stay out of the presence of God. He is calling you to come. He’s not asking you to pay Him back. He’s asking you to come into His presence. He’s asking you be in a relationship with Him. When we let go of the things that try to hold us back and start to walk in His mercy and grace, we’ll live the resurrected, abundant life that Christ came to give us!
That almost doesn’t make sense because most of us have the mentality that we have to win God’s favor. We feel that we have to do good works so God will approve us. But David says, “What shall I give to the Lord? I’ll give back to Him what He’s given me and live a resurrection life in Him.” David was going to move forward and not let anything stop him from exalting what God had done for him, and we can’t either.
Jesus came to give us an abundant life (John 10:10). He did not come to make us religious. He died and He rose again to bring us into a relationship with Himself. He is the living God, and because He lives, He wants to walk with us, talk with us, and call us by name. He wants us to receive all the benefits of what He has done for us.
So when the enemy tries to cause you to feel guilty and put condemnation on your life, remember the words of David, “I will take up the cup of salvation, and call upon His name.” Don’t ever stay out of the presence of God. He is calling you to come. He’s not asking you to pay Him back. He’s asking you to come into His presence. He’s asking you be in a relationship with Him. When we let go of the things that try to hold us back and start to walk in His mercy and grace, we’ll live the resurrected, abundant life that Christ came to give us!