Rejoice in Salvation – Psalm 13:5

“But I have trusted in Your mercy; my heart shall rejoice in Your salvation.”

For the believer, there is no other time of experiencing such an extreme diversity of great sorrow, great relief, and great joy than the point of surrendering to Jesus Christ.  The sorrow at the realization of our horrible sins against Jesus is offset by relief to know that Jesus first loved us and died to forgive our sins, which leads to the incredible joy at having our sins forgiven and having the hope of living eternally with our loving and merciful Savior.  I love how the second verse of 'Amazing Grace' describes the point of salvation.

"Twas grace that taught my heart to fear,

and grace my fears relieved.

How precious did that grace appear,

the hour I first believed."

It behooves the believer to keep that precious salvation event in recent memory, not only so that we remain humble as forgiven servants, but also to continue to rejoice in our salvation.  Further, as we recall that precious moment we resolved to trust in the mercy of God, we can again decide to trust in the mercy of our Savior rather than fretting about any current difficult situation. 

“The Christian life thrives on both memory and hope.  We remember how God has shown us mercy in the past, and so we look forward to how He will save us in the future.” (Charles Stanley)

That same power and love that plucked us out of the muck and mire to save our souls remains available to us.  Our loving God may not remove us from a troubling situation, but He will carry us through it.  He is our Strong Tower.  God has His purposes for each trying time of the believer.  We may have forgotten to trust in Him, but He has not forgotten about us.  Jesus promised comfort to His flock and Jesus does not break His promises.

“It is not to be supposed that merely because we have sorrow at one moment we shall have joy in the future. Only God’s mourners can expect God’s comforts.  It is only the renewed soul that can possibly thus trust, pray, and plead, when in the midst of anguish. The supreme concern of each is to accept peace with God through the Lord Jesus Christ; to have sin forgiven, and the soul renewed. He who has first cast his burden of sin and guilt on an atoning Saviour, and who is being renewed by the Holy Ghost, may come every day and cast any care, and all his care, upon his Father, God.  It is infinitely better to be in the depth of the valley of sorrow, as a good man, and to let our God lead us up to the height of joy, than, as a godless man, to be at the height of merriment and laughter for awhile, only to sink to the depths of despair.” (C. Clemance, eSword)

“Faith draws hope out of experience.” (C. Short)  As believers, God makes His comfort available to us, though we often fail to take advantage of this divine benefit.  As I have experienced difficult times in my life, whether it be my own illness or the illness of a loved one, finances, violent storms on the sailboat, family troubles, challenges at work, or now on the farm, and even challenges within the church, I have found strength and comfort in knowing that I can trust in the mercy of my God and Creator.  I have often had to repeat, out loud or in my mind, sometimes several times a day, what Moses said to the people when the Egyptian army had their backs against the Red Sea: “Do not be afraid.  Stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD.” (Exodus 14:13)

I do not have to ask.  If you are a loving and bold Christian serving Almighty God in these latter times, then I know that life is difficult for you.  Recall when you trusted in the mercy of God.  He has not changed.  Trust in His mercy again and rejoice in your salvation.

May you grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.