Connecting Points

Monday, May 09, 2011

Today’s Topic:  Saved and Safe!

Today’s Text:  Isaiah 43:2-3  When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the LORD, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior;

Someday.

That word defines our perspective most of the time. When we are young life is all about someday as we dream of what we will grow up to be. As adults we have lots of somedays.

• Someday I’ll meet the right person to marry.
• Someday I’ll get rich.
• Someday I’ll own a home.
• Etc. Etc. ad nauseum.

Some of our somedays have to do with the trials and tribulations of life.

• Someday I’ll get better.
• Someday I’ll change him/her.
• Someday I’ll get out of this mess.
• Etc. Etc. ad more nauseum

Don’t get me wrong – dreams are okay. Goals and ambitions are fine. But we tend to live in a wishful world of denial. We are always looking for the better that’s ahead when in reality the very best may be right here right now. In fact, where God is working in our lives right now is the most important place for us to be and to direct all of our attention and energy.

This is especially true in regards to our salvation. Yes, there is a futuristic reality to our salvation when Jesus returns to complete our redemption by completing His work of sanctification in our lives. We will be like Him when we see Him face to face. However, far too many of us are satisfied to live in that Someday when God wants us to see His saving and keeping power in our lives TODAY! We are missing the best this life can offer when we live for the someday instead of realizing that God has given us His best for today.

Constantly looking to Someday makes us self-dependant in the realities of today. When trouble comes, we have to fix it because Someday hasn’t arrived. When the circumstances of life, finances and relationships test us to the limits of our strength and resolve, we have nowhere else to go because we only believe in Someday. That’s not what God intended for us. If we are living that way we are living beneath our privilege.

Read these words of the Lord carefully –  When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the LORD, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.

Do you see the Today in those promises? Not Someday, but Today when you are experiencing the torrents of tribulation or the flames of fear, the Lord you God is your Savior. WOW!!!!!!! The power of Christ’s resurrected life in you is a very present reality and not reserved for Someday.

So go ahead – live for today. That’s where God is doing His greatest work in your life. You can see it, know it, and experience it.

Pastor John