What Can You Give God?

My husband recently showed me this verse: Give unto the LORD, O ye mighty, give unto the LORD glory and strength (Psalm 29:1). Did you ever think about it? I mean, did you ever think it strange that we could give God anything? Yet, here it is: the Great God of the Universe wants us—commands us—to give Him glory and strength!

When we go through the Bible, God does most of the giving—to sinful man. How could He love us like this?

But, what does God want us to give Him? You might be surprised!

Glory and strength—1 Chronicles 16:29; Psalm 29:2; 96:7-8; 115:1; Isaiah 42:12; and 1 Samuel 6:5. It was hard to get my head around this concept, so I looked up what it means to give glory to God. This is what I found: “We ‘ascribe’ or give glory to Him because it is His due. No one else deserves the praise and worship that we give to glorify Him. . . . We also glorify God by rehearsing His attributes and His deeds. To glorify God is to extol His attributes—His holiness, faithfulness, mercy, grace, love, majesty, sovereignty, power, and omniscience, to name a few—rehearsing them over and over in our minds and telling others about the singular nature of the salvation only He offers.”* What is the Bible saying when we give God strength? Doesn’t He have all power already? Of course, He does! This is talking about lending Him our own efforts, so that He can use them for His glory. That’s why, in so many of these verses, glory and strength go together.

Tithes and offerings—Genesis 28:22; Exodus 30:14; Leviticus 23:38; Numbers 15:21; Deuteronomy 15:14; 16:10; 18:4; 1 Chronicles 16:29; and Psalm 96:8. A tithe was/is the expected amount of giving from any believer—a tenth of any gross income. In some of these passages, it’s about crops. In two of them, it refers to dough, as a heave offering. (I had to chuckle about a tenth of the dough!) An offering can refer to the tithe and also above the tithe, an offering of love. Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver (2 Corinthians 9:7).

Songs of praise, thanks—Judges 5:3; 2 Samuel 22:50; 1 Chronicles 16:8, 34; Psalm 18:49; 30:12; 105:1; 106:1, 47; 107:1; 118:1, 29; 122:4; and 136:1. Anyone who’s ever read the book of Psalms should know that God loves praise. He wants to be adored, and He wants us to be thankful. A heart of praise and thanks pleases Him. Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands. Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing. Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name (Psalm 100:1, 2-4).

On one occasion, a mother (Hannah) gave God her firstborn child in service to God. This is how she prayed: And she vowed a vow, and said, O LORD of hosts, if thou wilt indeed look on the affliction of thine handmaid, and remember me, and not forget thine handmaid, but wilt give unto thine handmaid a man child, then I will give him unto the LORD all the days of his life, and there shall no razor come upon his head (1 Samuel 1:11). God answered her prayer, gave her Samuel, who was given back to the Lord in Tabernacle service. After Samuel, God blessed her with five more children.

Serving others is the same as giving service to Christ Himself. Jesus told this parable: Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me (Matthew 25:34-40).

What does God want from Christians? Glory, strength, tithes and offerings, singing, praise, thanks, and service.

I wonder. What are we giving God today?

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* https://www.gotquestions.org/glorify-God.html