Read
When the Lord Saves You
1I love you, Lord!
You answered my prayers.
2You paid attention to me,
and so I will pray to you
as long as I live.
3Death attacked from all sides,
and I was captured
by its painful chains.
But when I was really hurting,
4I prayed and said, “Lord,
please don't let me die!”
5You are kind, Lord,
so good and merciful.
6You protect ordinary people,
and when I was helpless,
you saved me
7and treated me so kindly
that I don't need
to worry anymore.
8You, Lord, have saved
my life from death,
my eyes from tears,
my feet from stumbling.
9Now I will walk at your side
in this land of the living.
10 I was faithful to you
when I was suffering,
11though in my confusion I said,
“I can't trust anyone!”
12What must I give you, Lord,
for being so good to me?
13I will pour out an offering
of wine to you,
and I will pray in your name
because you
have saved me.
14I will keep my promise to you
when your people meet.
15You are deeply concerned
when one of your loyal people
faces death.
16I worship you, Lord,
just as my mother did,
and you have rescued me
from the chains of death.
17I will offer you a sacrifice
to show how grateful I am,
and I will pray.
18I will keep my promise to you
when your people
19gather at your temple
in Jerusalem.
Shout praises to the Lord!
Reflect
I was sitting in a truck parked at a look-out spot above the Stewart River valley in the Yukon. My mind and spirit were in turmoil. I’d been trying to make life work on my own terms but had only succeeded in making myself miserable. The circumstances had come to a point of desperation and in desperation I began talking to God, even though I had convinced myself he did not exist. I asked forgiveness and asked him to show me that he was there. The clouds didn’t part and there was no sudden stirring of wind, so I continued on my journey unaware that something critical had just taken place. It took a while, but eventually God did indeed show me that he was with me, that he loved me, that he wanted to bless me. When I turned to him that day on the road to Mayo, he responded. He not only welcomed me into his family as a long-lost child, he gave me the one desire of my heart, a baby girl. That gift and the accompanying assurance that God’s love was real and unconditional changed my life forever.
“Because he turned his ear to me, I will call on him as long as I live” (Ps. 116:2).
God always hears and he will always respond, even though we may not see what he is doing at the time. When we acknowledge him and recognize our pitiful position before him, he reveals himself to us in ways that make us stand in humility and awe and lift our hands in praise.
Respond
Our father in heaven, thank you for all the ways in which you reveal yourself to us. Thank you that we can know that you are a God who hears and answers. Thank you for your deep and unchanging love for us. Amen.
Marcia Lee Laycock
Marcia Lee Laycock is an award-winning writer and sought-after speaker. Having lived a few kilometers from the Arctic Circle, and two degrees off the Equator, her writing draws from a rich field of experiences. Marcia was the winner of the Best New Canadian Christian Author Award for her novel, One Smooth Stone, and she now has four devotional books and a fantasy series in print, which have also garnered awards. Marcia lives in central Alberta with her pastor husband. They have three grown daughters and two huge Great Dane grand-puppies.