Reading:
"Behold, God is my salvation;
I will trust, and will not be afraid;
for the Lord God is my strength and my song,
and he has become my salvation."
(Isaiah 12:2)
Meditation:
It's hard to think about God being my salvation sometimes. I think that's because "salvation" to me can mean a lot of different things depending on my circumstances and internal psychology. What I mean is, "salvation" can mean anything from getting to a meeting on time to being healed of cancer; it can mean finding my car keys or it can mean ending a war. And in fact, in the Bible, the word "salvation" can mean a lot of different things.
But I wonder what it would be like to let God define my salvation. What if I assert along with the prophet Isaiah that God is my salvation, and then leave what that means up to him? Surely whatever God would mean by it in a given moment is better than what I might think it means. What if I entrusted my salvation to God rather than defining it for myself?
God doesn't guarantee that I won't contract Coronavirus, or that someone I love won't die from it. He doesn't make those kinds of specific promises. But he does teach me to trust him by showing me Jesus Christ crucified for my sake. He does not promise that I will never endure hardship that will lead to death. But he does promise that he will go with me and that he will be my strength along the way. And I know that he will because he already has. The Son of God already died for me. He already saved me. He has become my salvation.
This guarantee frees me to pray for salvation according to God's will. It also teaches me that God is trustworthy, that he will be my strength when I need it, when times are hard. And he will be my song, my celebration in the midst of distress.
Prayer:
Father,
we need salvation.
Save us according to your steadfast love,
according to your will.
For you are a good God.
We have seen your love for us
in the cross of Jesus Christ.
And we know that our ultimate salvation
is in your hands.
We entrust ourselves to you, now.
Have mercy on us.
In the name of Jesus Christ
in whom is all our hope.
Amen
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