A friend recently posted 20 topics he would like to see bloggers write about. One of the topics that really peaked my interest and my introspection was "How does God continue to save you today?" At first glance you might think, of the theological debate between those in the "once saved always saved camp" and those who believe you can loose your salvation. For the record I am of the former camp. It is not my intention to stir that debate, heaven knows it has been discussed for years and by people far more educated and intelligent than me.
So how does God continue to save me? First He continues to save me from any physical harm that He has not allowed me to walk through. I am sure that there are an abundance of physical problems I could be experiencing right now and dangers I could face (freeway driving for example). I recently heard of a young woman in her freshman year of college who was killed in an auto accident. No one expects at 18 or 19 to die in that sort of tragedy. Second He saves me from all the ungodly tendencies in my heart. It is only by His mercy and grace that I am not an angry, judgemental and selfish person. Not that I don't struggle with sin, we all do, but as I look back at 30+ years of walking by faith I see change in my life, I am by God's grace a better person, slowly becoming more Christlike. One area I have seen God change me in is the labeling of people that I used to be so prone to. For example, if say 10 years ago I met a person on welfare, I would tend to label them as either lazy, uneducated or other unflattering terms. Now I see a person, who may or may not have made decisions that were bad for them. I don't see people in terms of "the poor", "the disabled", or any other box we tend to put people into.
The third way God continues to save me was made obvious to me this past week. He saves me from hopelessness and despair. All my life I have struggled with depression. I am now on medication that has helped greatly, but without God, nothing would save me from that despair. I was reminded of that this week as I sat waiting for my husband whom I had brought to the ER for the second time in 5 days. Thankfully neither trip was as serious as they could have been. But as I sat there I looked at the faces of people waiting. This hospital tends to have a spectrum of people from urban poor, to working but uninsured to people with regular middle class lives. As I looked I sensed an utter lack of hope, a sense of people beaten down by the situations of life. I realize no one is at their best in an emergency room, in fact they are at their worst probably. But I was struck by the thought of who do people who are not believers go to for comfort and strength? Humans at their best can only listen, offer advice, comfort and maybe help. They truly can't strengthen the human heart. They can't completely understand what we are going through, empathize yes, but understand 100% no. Our God knows us intimately, loves us completely, and provides for us fully. That is how my God saves me each day.
So let me hear your story, how does God continue to save you each day? Lets celebrate our great and gracious God together.
