[DEVOTIONAL] You Can't Give What you Don't Have

"I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples;
I will sing praises to you among the nations." Psalm 108:3

Written by B.F., Johnson Ferry Baptist Church, Marietta, GA.

Nemo dat quod non habet.  Translated from Latin: “You can’t give what you don’t have.”  

This is one of those maxims in life.  As a parent, if you desire to pass along to your kids a love for the NBA, or country music, or mountain biking, the best way to do that is to love those things yourself.  It’s true what they say:  “better caught than taught.” 

This is also true for the greatest of loves:  our delight in knowing God and making Him known.  

What is it that a lost and dying world needs most of all?  They need the gospel message delivered with passionate, white-hot gospel zeal welling up from God’s people.  

I am a missions pastor serving in a missions-minded church, a role I have had for nearly 16 years. Admittedly, it is challenging at times to keep the “zeal meter” high.  How do I pass along to our congregation a pounding heart for Christ and His glory among the nations, year in and year out? I have found it is by forming habits that make my heart pound and my lungs sing. Here are some examples:

“I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples…”  

First, I need to daily remind myself to give thanks.  It is so easy to grumble.  It is so easy to lose sight of God’s many gifts.  But even in the hardest times, we can find something to give thanks for.  Here’s an idea:  start a “thankful” journal.  Every day jot down a few big things and little things you are grateful for.  

“I will sing praises to you...” 

Thankfulness for God’s provision in your life is good, but incomplete.  We must also regularly give praise to God, for who he is and for what he has done for us through Christ’s atoning sacrifice.  And we don’t just speak praises.  We sing them!  O what a joy it is to gather with fellow believers to lift up praise to God week after week.  But you don’t have to wait until Sunday!  Here’s another idea:  Each morning during your daily quiet time, or another daily morning routine (i.e. drinking coffee, going for a walk, whatever you do in a typical morning), choose a praise song on your favorite music platform and sing along.  Make it a habit at home, in the car, or at work to have praise music playing throughout your day.  

“…among the nations.”  

Thanksgiving and praise are not just spiritual disciplines for personal growth.  They are disciplines that multiply out to the ends of the earth.  The greatest motivation for pursuing the nations is not pity, but praise.  Pity for the lostness and suffering in this world is a good thing.  But it’s insufficient.  Praise for the One who made and redeemed the peoples is what will sustain us until the very end.  And when we go and make disciples of the nations, they will see and they will experience the joy welling up in our lives.  It’s simply contagious!  

So may we be the kind of people who sing praises to our God, for the sake of His glory and for the sake of joy—the joy that will multiply out unto the ends of the earth!

“Let the peoples praise you O God; let all the peoples praise you! The earth has yielded its increase; God, our God, shall bless us.  God shall bless us; let all the ends of the earth fear him!”  Psalm 67:6-7