Remember Your Salvation

If your family is anything like mine, or similar to almost every family in America, you spent a little more time this week trying to be thankful. You tried to slow down and take some time away from work and emails, to spend time with your family or friends. Sometimes we do this and the day goes wonderfully, other times it just feels like life.

Often the daily struggles don’t take a break just because it is a holiday. You express thanks, and love and fight for joy. And in spite of all of that, your heart may just feel stuck, or dull, or weary. You may have thought or prayed like David: “Lord, restore to me the joy of my salvation”. You may have prayed this almost in surrender, asking the Lord to do something. The Lord does restore our hearts, but he hasn’t left us to just sit and wait.

One way the Lord can restore the joy of our salvation, and awaken love and gratitude in our hearts, is for us to remember our salvation. It can be helpful to remember back to the moment the Lord saved you, if you were even aware of it at the time. That is helpful, but I want us to think about the salvation of God in its fullness.

Before we had any awareness of God, He foreknew, fore-loved us.

“For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.” (Romans 8:29)

He called us.

“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” (Matthew 11:28–29)

He gave us grace that we would believe.

“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,” (Ephesians 2:8)

He forgave us.

“And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.” (Colossians 2:13–14)

All your sin. All your rebellion. All your impatience. All your grumbling. All your vanity, all your lust, all your envy and pride. All your lack of love, lack of thankfulness, lack of joy, lack of faith. He paid for it all and carried it all on the cross.

And the Father adopted us.

“But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,” (John 1:12)

And Jesus keeps us.

“All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.” (John 6:37)

And His Spirit is daily working in us.

“So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day.” (2 Corinthians 4:16)

And He will change us and make us new.

“Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed.” (1 Corinthians 15:51–52)

And because God is totally trustworthy I can say:

“And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” (Philippians 1:6)

Let’s pray.

Father, we praise you that you have been working salvation in us since before the world began. And you continue to work in us today. We ask you to restore and increase the joy of our salvation. May our cups be overflowing with hope. Help us to see the innumerable ways that you have been working for our good. Warm our hearts with your grace, as we confess our sins to you now in silence…

…Father with you there is forgiveness of sins. We thank you that we can continually come to you to find forgiveness, help, and peace. Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, and his steadfast love endures forever. Let us praise you with Joy, and sing to you with all whole heart, amen.