This is a Psalm of King David. He spent about a 10 year period of his life being chased by Saul. This caused Him to cry out, thank and praise God for His saving hand in his life. God sustained David from many threatening instances where he should have died. I was intrigued when I looked up the Hebrew word for salvation in verse 5. “Salvation means deliverance, help, victory. The primary meaning is to rescue from distress or danger.”
I’d like to share two specific times in my own life when I cried out for God’s saving hand to rescue me. The first story is from when we lived in the Philippines. There, we loved to go on mini trips and go snorkeling around different islands. One one occasion we went out as family to snorkel in a secluded area. We loved marveling over the colorful fish, starfish, and corals we would see. After a while the rest of my family went back on the sandy shore. I was left there alone to explore. This was fun for a while, but I began to get tired of swimming and was getting anxious that I was going to cut myself on the corals. Not only that, but I didn’t know how to navigate the waters to get to the shore. I cried out to the Lord because I was afraid and didn’t want to drown. He gave me the peace of mind and wisdom to know how to swim back to safety. This made me so grateful for God’s hand leading me and guiding me in my time of desperate need.
The second is my salvation story. In one week I had almost lost my license because of a speeding ticket. Then the boyfriend whom I thought was the one broke up with me and was fired from my job. This brought me to an all time low point. I can remember being in my kitchen putting dishes away as I talked to God. I told God that I had been doing life my own way and I wanted to fully surrender my life to Him. I needed rescuing from my own failures, sins, and short comings. That day I came to know God in a personal way and received the gift of eternal life found in knowing and believing in Jesus Christ.
When have you been in danger or in distress? What did you do in those situations? I would encourage you today to journal what God did for you when you were in need of saving. Praise the Lord and thank Him for the marvelous work he did in sustaining your life and remember: He has been so very good to you!
Walking In The Light 