Engulfed by three feet of water, there was absolutely nothing I could do except wait for my final breath.
Coming from a family of nonswimmers, I suppose it’s natural to fear water. So when my friends decided to take the intertube we were floating on to the deep end of the swimming pool, I panicked. My fingers clasped the cement sides as my lifeboat slowly moved toward the outer banks. As I clutched and the intertube released, I slithered slowly into the water and headed for the bottom. Final thoughts went through my young mind: “I’m a Christian, so I know I’ll go to heaven.” “It’ll be okay. I’ll just stop breathing, and it’ll be over.”
When it appeared the end was near, I suddenly popped up out of the water but not of my own accord. One of my friends-seeing my predicament, had jumped in and rescued me. History records many instances when God physically delivered people from danger, but his greatest rescue was spiritual as David notes. The LORD frees the prisoners. The LORD opens the eyes of the blind (Psalm 146:7-8 NLT).
Praising God for salvation reaffirms our belief in the Bible’s message that our spiritual predicament apart from Christ is desperate but can be rectified through faith in him. We are enslaved by a cruel task master-sin (Romans 3:23). Unless rescued, our end is bleak-eternal separation from the God who loves us (Romans 6:23). God’s rescue through forgiveness removes us from the state of condemnation to the position of freedom (Romans 8:1). Nothing can ever again separate us from God’s love and daily guidance (Romans 8:38). Have you been delivered? If so, praise God daily for intervening on your behalf.
Prayer: God of grace and mercy, we praise You this and every day for our salvation.
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