The human struggle is often about finding a safe, secure place and then having a sense that one's life is worthwhile, productive.
So, where to find that safety? And how do you come to know that life is worth living?
The best place to start is at the source, in the presence of the Creator.
By awesome deeds you answer us with deliverance, O God of our salvation; you are the hope of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest seas.
By your strength you established the mountains; you are girded with might.
You silence the roaring of the seas, the roaring of their waves, the tumult of the peoples.
Those who live at earth’s farthest bounds are awed by your signs; you make the gateways of the morning and the evening shout for joy.
Psalm 65:5-8
The psalmist writes, “By awesome deeds you answer us with deliverance, O God of our salvation.” The deliverance that he is speaking of is the exodus, when God rescued Israel from slavery in Egypt by parting the Red Sea and leading them to safety.
But that act of salvation was not an end in itself. God chose Israel to be the means through which all nations would ultimately have the chance to be saved. Many Americans believe that we are God’s chosen people, that God has a special purpose and blessing just for us. But the last half of the verse above reminds us that this is just not the case. “By awesome deeds you answer us with deliverance, O God of our salvation; you are the hope of all the ends of the earth.”
As we thank God for our many blessings this Thanksgiving season, may we be attuned to how God is choosing to bless all the peoples of the earth, and may we be instruments of that blessing.
Tracy Hartman
God, thank you for offering your salvation not only to me, but to the whole world. Help me to see all the ways that you are at work delivering people everywhere, and help me know how I can be a part. Amen.
As we work together with him, we urge you also not to accept the grace of God in vain. For he says,
“At an acceptable time I have listened to you,
and on a day of salvation I have helped you.”
See, now is the acceptable time; see, now is the day of salvation!
2 Corinthians 6:1-2