The Lord Himself Is My Salvation – April 3, 2019

“Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The LORD, the LORD himself, is my strength and my defense; he has become my salvation.”
Isaiah 12:2

The Lord Himself Is My Salvation

Do you have any enemies? Is there anyone at work or at school who has reason to resent you? Or maybe you’ve antagonized a member of your own family—perhaps without meaning to—and there’s been bad blood between the two of you ever since. Life is difficult enough with all of its challenges without feeling like there is someone who is actively working against you every step of the way.

Maybe you get along fine with all the people in your life, but at the same time you’ve wondered if God himself had it in for you. When we face one obstacle after another or experience a series of setbacks in life, we may begin to fear that God is punishing us for something we’ve said or done. What a frightening thought—to have God himself as your enemy! How could anything ever go right for you? How could you ever have peace, knowing that God is at war with you?

The truth is that we make God our enemy every time we try to live without him. When we insist on going our own way—a selfish and foolish way, God will oppose our actions. That’s because in love he created us to be close to him and receive his blessings and protection. The Lord God wants you to be near him, knows that you need him, and will actively work against your efforts to leave him behind.

He did just that by sending his Son, Jesus Christ. Through his death for our sins, Christ reconciled us to God. The very God whom we angered with our rebellion is the God who rescued us from our own self-destructive ways.

The LORD, the LORD himself, is our strength and our defense; he has become our salvation. When obstacles come your way as you walk with the Lord, you can be sure that he will either give you strength to overcome them or use the situation to otherwise bring you closer to him and his love for you.

Prayer:
Dear Lord, keep me safe from my enemies, including my own sinful nature. Take away my fear by reminding me always of your love and forgiveness. Amen.