The joy of salvation
by Dianne Eckermann
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With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation (Isaiah 12:3).
Water in Australia is often a problem. Many parts of the land have only recently emerged from several years of severe drought, and as I write, large areas of eastern Australia are suffering the destructive force of floods. It must be hard to read Dorothea Mackellar’s poem about her love for a sunburnt country and a land ‘of droughts and flooding rains’ when we have experienced the worst of both of these extremes recently and probably found little to love. Water dominates our lives – from those who have too much to those who have too little.
Some years ago, on a visit to the South Island of New Zealand, I heard a comment that we measure what is most important to us, which is why Australians measure water and New Zealanders measure sunshine. While I haven’t counted personally, apparently water is mentioned 722 times in the Bible, which sounds like it was important enough to be measured during biblical times.
In Isaiah’s song of praise to God who comforts us and is our strength and defence, the word salvation is repeated three times. Repetition emphasises the importance of salvation, not just in the context of the people of Judah thousands of years ago but in our lives today.
Therefore, it follows that to draw from wells of salvation is also important. This is a reminder that just as water is essential to life, so God’s salvation is also essential to life. It is easy to imagine the joy of salvation drawn from deep wells, as we know what it is like to be refreshed by water on a hot summer’s day.
When these words from Isaiah were first written, the world was unpredictable, just as it is today. It was not often a safe world where people could feel in control of their lives. Similarly, today our world seems to lurch from one unpredictable catastrophe to the next and rarely are we in control – whether we are enduring personal crises, such as illness, job or family pressures, or political instability threatens peace in our world. It is days like these we are most in need of assurance and the joy of water from the wells of salvation.
Heavenly Father, we thank you for life-giving water and the gift of your salvation. We also pray for those most in need of your strength and defence and ask for your peace. Amen.
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