TOPIC: DRAWING WITH THE JOY OF SALVATION
Bible Reading: Numbers 16-17; Mark 6:33-56
“Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation.” – Isaiah 12:3 (KJV)
Salvation isn’t just a one-time experience where God only saves you from your sin. When you received Jesus as your Lord you became a child of God and from that point God became your ‘everyday’ Savior. So, as you journey through life, you will need constant deliverance from one thing or the other and it is your constant testimony of victory in life that brings glory to God. As believers we’re in the world but we’re not of this world and our joy is the assurance of deliverance from the things that draw and sink others. Yes, there are times when it looks as if we’re in a tight situation and we’re hemmed in all sides, but we refuse to be afraid because we have an ‘everyday’ Savior.
Apostle Paul wrote to the church in 2 Corinthians 1:9-10 saying, “But we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raiseth the dead: Who delivered us from so great a death, and doth deliver: in whom we trust that he will yet deliver us;” God is ever available and present to rescue again and again from sin, danger, sickness, poverty, harm and defeat. This is what salvation is all about.
The challenge however with some believers is that they fail to realize that the joy they experienced at the new birth is the rope that they are meant to use to constantly draw from God’s well of salvation deposited in them. Without a revelation of joy, you will find yourself grumbling and complaining at any instance of opposition like the children of Israel who rejoiced when they crossed the red sea but murmured at every challenge they faced in the wilderness. The joy of salvation at the new birth can carry you through the journey of life. We rejoice at the new birth (i.e. crossing the red sea) and we keep rejoicing even when there seem to be no water to drink in the desert.
The supernatural force of God’s joy deposited in your spirit at the new birth is activated through thanksgiving and gratitude in the midst of contradictory situations and circumstances and as you do, you will always see the almightiness of God revealed and manifested in that situation. It is through joy (not complaining, murmuring and being disgruntle) that you draw on the resources and forces of heaven and turn every negative situation around.
PRAYER: Thank You Father for the joy of salvation that you have given me. I am grateful for Your love towards me in Jesus Name.
Pastor Alfred Samuel