“May he send you help from the sanctuary and grant you support from Zion. May he remember all your sacrifices and accept your burnt offerings.” Psalm 20:2, 3
I recently heard this psalm read and verse 3 jumped out to me, which got me thinking about sacrifice. What is the sacrifice that is being mentioned here? Of course, in Old Testament times when this was written, every good Jew made a habit of taking sacrifices to the Temple to offer to God. Those sacrifices were made up of grain, oil and animals. From a financial standpoint, they were more of a sacrifice for some than for others. In fact, God made allowances for that. If people couldn’t afford the expensive animals, God allowed them to sacrifice less valuable animals. We know that God looks at more than just the monetary value of the gifts we give. He also looks at the heart. Are we giving grudgingly or cheerfully? Do we give because we’re expected to give, or do we give out of love and thanksgiving to God, our Creator and Redeemer?
In a modern sense, sacrifice doesn’t consist of grains and animals being sacrificed on an altar. In fact, if we tried to sacrifice animals, we’d have animal rights activists all over that! Today, our sacrifices may be monetary gifts given to our local church body or to other Christian organizations, or it may be gifts of our time and our talents given to those same places. Or maybe – and this is what God has been talking to me about lately – maybe our sacrifice is given in our personal lives doing what needs to be done for those closest to us. I currently find myself in the situation of caring for a family member which allows me very little time for anything else. God is helping me to see that while I am doing the caregiving out of love for the person, I’m also doing it out of love for God. That’s what makes it a sacrifice to Him.
It‘s easy for us to think that we no longer offer burnt offerings, but I disagree. Too often, the burnt offering is ourselves. We allow ourselves to become completely burnt out from doing those very things God has called us to do. That’s where verse 2 comes in. Burnout is not something God wants for His children. He never asks us to offer ourselves as burnt offerings! That’s why He sends His help and support. The original Hebrew word translated “send” has a sense of being released. I’m picturing a floodgate opening up and God’s help pouring over us as if we’re standing under a waterfall. The problem is, I so often step out from under that waterfall and try to do it on my own strength. I try to make it about me. When we stop to think about it we realize that because of what God has done for us, we offer Him a sacrifice, and He pours out whatever help we need to offer that sacrifice, which means we want to thank Him and praise Him even more. And the cycle continues. So instead of me being all generous and amazing by offering sacrifices, it’s really about His Spirit filling me with an unending supply of love, joy, and peace even in the midst of difficult situations. We just can’t out-sacrifice God!