GOD VALUES US SO MUCH

Psalm 116:15-19 says, "Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his faithful servants. Truly I am your servant, Lord; I serve you just as my mother did; you have freed me from my chains. I will sacrifice a thank offering to you and call on the name of the Lord. I will fulfill my vows to the Lord in the presence of all his people, in the courts of the house of the Lord—in your midst, Jerusalem. Praise the Lord." The writer of this Psalm recognized himself before the LORD as His servant (slave). The writer was a servant, like his mother was. God redeemed them and freed them from their chains, meaning they were no longer just servants (slaves) but had become a part of the family of God. During the time of the Old Testament, servants (slaves) would typically be servants (slaves) forever if they chose to, especially when their master was good to them. However, in the context of this Psalm, they became children of God, who loved them dearly. God cares about their death. As a result, the writer of this Psalm was so grateful to God's goodness that he offered a sacrifice of thanksgiving and praise, and would fulfill all his vows or promises to God. 

Similarly, God freed us from the slavery of sin so that we are now His children. We were once controlled by sin, and we can't say no to it, but since God freed us through the life, death, and resurrection of our Lord Jesus, we can now say no to sin, for God has freed us from the slavery of sin to become His children. Now that we are His children, He cares about us deeply. He cares about our death as his faithful servants and children. God has complete control over our death. God knows that death is a part of us because our bodies are affected by sin, and this is the reason we aged, and our bodies become frail and weak. Death is something that we cannot avoid, but the hope and comfort that we have is that God already gave us eternal life, so that when it is time for God to allow death to our bodies to take us home, we will gladly receive new bodies that are no longer susceptible to sickness, death, and sin. Our healing in this world is temporary because we are not meant to live forever on this earth. God gives us time to live in this world to fulfill His purpose and plan in and through us. Eventually, God will take us home to be with Him forever.

We have eternal hope in God. He loves and cares about us. We are His children forever, and there will come a day when we will be with God forever with glorified bodies and will praise and worship Him forever.   

Questions for application: (Think through these questions carefully, meditate on them while answering them, and let the Spirit of God speak to you.) How did God free me from the slavery of sin? What does it mean to be freed from the slavery of sin? Does God care about my death? Can I avoid the death of my earthly body? What happens after my death?

Take a moment to write down all your worries today. Then, lift them to God in prayer, surrendering them to His will and trusting in His guidance.

Prayer:

Dear Father in Heaven, thank you for adopting me as your child. I praise you for saving me from the slavery of sin through my Lord Jesus. Thank you for giving me eternal life and caring about my life and death in this world. I will live on this earth as long as you will it, but ultimately, you will take me home to be with you forever, where there is no more death, sin, or suffering. Please help me to honor your name in everything that I do, and I will continue to praise and worship you for all your goodness. In your name, Jesus, I pray. Amen.