A common saying to someone in a pensive mood is,
"A penny for your thoughts."
I recently heard a testimony from a man who heard with his spiritual ears the Lord say, "A penny for your heart."
I hope you will be encouraged by this simple, yet profound, testimony involving a priceless penny!
A PRICELESS TESTIMONY
I have learned in whatever state I am to be content.
Everywhere and in all things I have learned
both to abound and to suffer need.
I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
(Philippians 4:11-13)
I once ministered to a man who had experienced much loss -- his marriage, his health, his income, his friends, and nearly his hope.
One day as he worked as a part-time janitor, he noticed a penny in the dust and debris he was sweeping up. As he was just about to dump a dust pan load into a trash can, he again was struck by the sight of that penny.
He paused, then heard with his spiritual ears, "If you cannot be grateful for this penny, you cannot be truly grateful for any thing." He believed it was the Spirit of the Lord speaking love and assurance to him.
He rescued the penny from the dust and debris, and cherished it and embraced it in the palm of his hand.
He knew this was not a lucky penny. And God wasn't a task Master trying to teach His child to be more grateful. God was a Father revealing the true heart that He had already given His child!
The next Sunday, my friend gave His penny away in a church offering plate. We, too, are called to give our lives away for the glory of the Lord.
A PRICELESS TRUTH
Oh, the distinction between striving to be grateful (and feeling guilty) and living out of the gratefulness that is already ours (and experiencing the joy of Christ) is so vital! It is the difference between striving and resting, between despair and hope, and between death and life!
For you see, years before his losses, by God's grace this man was given a new spiritual heart that is now and forever indwelt by Christ. Jesus Christ always expressed His thankfulness to the Father for all things. This grateful character of Christ became the character of this man through his union with Christ.
At one time, I was a "penny" in the midst of sinful dust and debris. And God rescued me by His grace.
That's as far as the analogy goes with the testimony of my friend. For you see, God didn't rescue me by sweeping me up and picking me out of my sin. A holy God cannot sweep sin away. He became a "penny" like me and entered into my sinful "dust and debris," and then He died for all my sins.
And that's not all! God rescued me by uniting me with Christ through His death and burial! And then He raised me with Christ a new person! A shiny new penny, if you will! Not shiny by being polished on the outside, but shiny by manifesting the glory of Christ on the inside!
CLOSING
The two engravings on the penny have also been engraved on your heart and my heart by God Himself:
IN GOD I TRUST
Trust in the Lord with your whole heart,
and lean not on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge Him,
and He shall direct your paths.
(Psalm 3:5-6)
LIBERTY
Stand fast in the liberty
by which Christ has made us free,
and do not become entangled again
with a yoke of bondage.
(Galatians 5:1)
Standing with you,
A Penny for Your Heart
