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The Joy of Your Salvation

Do you have forbidden places in your mind? Those moments, events, or phases of your past that you just don’t let yourself revisit?

Maybe it was a time of financial difficulty when you found yourself huddled around a space heater because your gas had been shut off. Maybe it was a phase of willful rebellion when you made bad choices and paid high prices. Perhaps it was a time of grieving the death of a loved one, or of a dream, or of a marriage. Maybe it was a time when the pain was so acute, it felt like you would be swallowed up, or when the stress was so intense, it felt like you would crumble under the weight of it.

So you block it out. You just don’t go there.

I have a few forbidden places in my past. I don’t like to think about the hard times. I would rather rejoice that those times are behind me. I don’t like to think about my past failures. I would rather shut them out and strengthen my resolve to never make those same mistakes again. And I think there is wisdom in that. If you dwell continually on the pains and failures of your past, you will implode. The human psyche can handle only so much. However, something is to be said for taking the time to reflect on the failures and trials of our past.

The Joy of Your Salvation

As much as we might like to think otherwise, we all have wrongdoings, indiscretions, and rebellion in our past. We have all been wounded by sin; we are victims of our own sins and of the sins of others. Sin is the great equalizer. No one is immune, and there is no earthly antidote.

The Bible commentator Matthew Henry said, “We must beware of deceiving ourselves in denying or excusing our sins. The more we see them the more we shall esteem and value the remedy.” I believe this also applies to those “forbidden places” of our past. We should be willing to acknowledge them, to reflect on them, and to appreciate them fully. Only in doing so can we truly comprehend the magnitude of our rescue.

In Deuteronomy 6:12, Moses reminds the people of Israel to “take care lest you forget the Lord, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery” (ESV). The admonishment isn’t simply to remember the Lord; they were also told to remember Egypt, their house of slavery.

To rejoice in our salvation is wonderful, but it’s that much more significant when we remember what we have been saved from. In the big picture, we have been saved from the eternity in hell we so earnestly deserve. In our earthly lifetime, we are rescued and redeemed from so many tribulations, big and small.

David praises the Lord in Psalm 40:2, saying, “He drew me up from the pit of destruction, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure” (ESV). How great is our salvation!

It can be a painful exercise, but when we remember the ashes, we develop a deeper appreciation for the beauty. When we remember the weeping of the night, it only multiplies the joy we have in the morning. I encourage you to nourish the joy of your salvation by reflecting on what you have been saved from and the price Jesus paid for this marvelous free gift.

lives in Michigan with her husband and four (soon to be five!) children. She is a lover of music, language, and all things thought-provoking. She is a witness and testimony to God’s redemptive grace.

Photograph © Kinga Cichewicz, used with permission

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