What is that?  The ending of self.  Salvation comes through surrender of self.

Max Lucado writes; “When you recognize God as Creator, you will admire him. When you recognize his wisdom, you will learn from him. When you discover his strength, you will rely on him. But only when he saves you will you worship him.”  –Encouraging Word Bible

Let these words simmer in our thoughts as we read the psalm of Asaph for this day.

Psalm 80, The Message

For the director of music. To the tune of “The Lilies of the Covenant.” Of Asaph. A psalm.

^1-2 Listen, Shepherd, Israel’s Shepherd—
    get all your Joseph sheep together.
Throw beams of light
    from your dazzling throne
So Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh
    can see where they’re going.
Get out of bed—you’ve slept long enough!
    Come on the run before it’s too late.

³     God, come back!
    Smile your blessing smile:
    That will be our salvation.

^4-6 God, God-of-the-Angel-Armies,
    how long will you smolder like a sleeping volcano
    while your people call for fire and brimstone?
You put us on a diet of tears,
    bucket after bucket of salty tears to drink.
You make us look ridiculous to our friends;
    our enemies poke fun day after day.

⁷     God-of-the-Angel-Armies, come back!
    Smile your blessing smile:
    That will be our salvation.

^8-18 Remember how you brought a young vine from Egypt,
    cleared out the brambles and briers
    and planted your very own vineyard?
You prepared the good earth,
    you planted her roots deep;
    the vineyard filled the land.
Your vine soared high and shaded the mountains,
    even dwarfing the giant cedars.
Your vine ranged west to the Sea,
    east to the River.

So why do you no longer protect your vine?
    Trespassers pick its grapes at will;
Wild pigs crash through and crush it,
    and the mice nibble away at what’s left.
God-of-the-Angel-Armies, turn our way!
    Take a good look at what’s happened
    and attend to this vine.
Care for what you once tenderly planted—
    the vine you raised from a shoot.
And those who dared to set it on fire—
    give them a look that will kill!
Then take the hand of your once-favorite child,
    the child you raised to adulthood.
We will never turn our back on you;
    breathe life into our lungs so we can shout your name!

¹⁹     God, God-of-the-Angel-Armies, come back!
    Smile your blessing smile:
    That will be our salvation.

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

We love it when our plans come together.  We revel and celebrate when life is smooth sailing on calm seas. If we think about; we might even give God all the glory.  But when the storms come with fury and destruction and the waters rise up to our necks and overwhelm us with fear; how do we respond?

Even for those of us who say we believe in God and believe all He says to be really real; we worry when life is challenging in every aspect and in every way!  We become weary, stressed and perplexed.  Most times our first response is to complain first to God, family, and friends; and not necessarily in that order.  If the storm does not cease immediately in our timing we begin to make judgements and search for who to blame. 

We think it is right for us to make strong suggestive prayers to God, outlining the problem to Him with our ways He can remedy the circumstance for us—kind of like calling a landlord, demanding him to fix a leaky faucet that is driving us crazy.  We must admit, that our primal response in life is for God to “fix it”—with speed and accuracy so we can get back to “normal” living.  After all, we are important in life and must carry on the work God gave us to do.  So, since we read that nothing with God is impossible; we call on God to fix what we cannot.  (Yikes)

Are we beginning to see how much we take God’s Holy Word out of context to fit our longing for control of life?  Are we ready to repent, be still before Him and let Him have He way in our lives?  What is surrender?  Is it only for the bad times or is surrender a daily discipline as worship to God:  ALL of Him in ALL we think, say, and do as directed by Him to be ALL He created us to be.

Yes, this is personal and requires some thoughtful consideration through communicating with our Lord.  I’ll leave salvation of our souls where it belongs; in His Hands.

Jesus is our Salvation.  Jesus is the Only Way to God’s throne of redemption and relationship with God.  There is Power in the very Name of Jesus!

Lucado continues with this explanation:

“It’s a “before and after” scenario. Before your rescue, you could easily keep God at a distance. Comfortably dismissed. Neatly shelved. Sure, he was important, but so was your career. Your status. Your salary. He was high on your priority list, but he shared the spot with others.

Then came the storm . . . the rage . . . the fight . . . the ripped moorings . . . the starless night. Despair fell like a fog; your bearings were gone. In your heart, you knew there was no exit.

Turn to your career for help? Only if you want to hide from the storm but not escape it. Lean on your status for strength? A storm isn’t impressed with your title. Rely on your salary for rescue? Many try. Genuinely ask him. He will come.

And from that moment on, he is not just a deity to admire, a teacher to observe, or a master to obey. He is the Savior. The Savior to be worshiped.” –Max Lucado, Encouraging Word Bible

May our first and best response be humbled prayers that first give glory, honor, and praise to God. Acknowledge our God as the One and Only who knows what we need when we need it most. This puts God first and us as His children in the right order.

Be honest with reverent awe for God.  Ask Him what He wants to teach us through our suffering.  Thank God for being with us always—in good times and in challenging times!  Thank Him, as James writes, for our sufferings that mature of faith in God! (James 1)  Refrain from telling God what with how to do what you want; instead ask what He wants us to do.

Remember that God loved us so much He planned the greatest solution for all of life from the beginning of Creation—His Son, Jesus.  Jesus is the Vine and we are the branches just as Asaph described in his lament to God.  Asaph, however, was speaking of God’s people being the vines planted by God throughout the known region to give God glory by telling the world of His greatness as God.  God was their salvation!

Lord,

Thank you for cleansing our hearts, renewing our minds, refreshing our souls and restoring the joy of YOUR salvation at work within us. May your will be done in every detail of our lives lived today.  Lead us, Lord.  YOU are our salvation. “Let the morning bring word of you unfailing love and care for all our trust is in you.” (Psalm 143) I yours and I’m listening.

In Jesus Name, Amen