Isaiah 12:2 “Surely God is my salvation;
I will trust and not be afraid.
The Lord, the Lord, is my strength and my song;
he has become my salvation.”

This whole short chapter has been set to music in various ways in various languages, for excellent reason. This particular verse seems much better to me in the Japanese than in the NIV at any rate, because of how the second half is translated. As a matter of policy the NIV translates the formal name for God as LORD, rather than writing out the tetragrammaton, YHWH, with or without vowels, but here the Japanese renders it as “YAH, the LORD.” To me that’s more satisfying than simple repetition. Also, there’s a tiny difference of nuance in the very last line: “He has become salvation for me.” That doesn’t seem much different from “my salvation,” but rather than using the possessive form, as in “He belongs to me,” it is a matter of “for my sake.” That is exactly what God did in Christ Jesus, becoming human flesh and dying to take the penalty for our sins and give us eternal life. That said, the first part of the verse is also very important, and there is no ambiguity there. When we realize that God is indeed our salvation, we can choose to trust and not be afraid. So much of life is a choice, and yet we often don’t realize it. We tend to think we are pawns, swept along by circumstances, failing to recognize that in every situation we have the choice of how we are going to respond. This is exactly what Jesus was talking about in John 16:33, when He said that as long as we are in this world we will have troubles, but that we are to rejoice anyway. Knowing, trusting, that God is going to bring it all out right in the end enables us to be strong, and even to sing, regardless of what is going on around us. That God would love us so much as to become salvation for us in the form of Jesus Christ our Lord should be enough to get us through anything!

This is something I’ve known as objective fact for most of my life, but it is as I have gone through various troubles that it has become personal and worked into my heart. Andrae Crouch’s song, Through it All, expresses that experience beautifully. “If I’d never had a problem, I wouldn’t know that He could solve them.” That in itself is enough to give me gratitude even for the problems. Paul’s admonitions to give God thanks in and for everything (Ephesians 5:20, 1 Thessalonians 5:18) seem impossible to some, but I think I have a taste of what he was talking about. When I can bring myself to trust God enough to thank Him even for things that are manifestly evil, knowing that He is going to turn them around for good, (Romans 8:28) I have defeated the devil and participated in Christ’s victory. (John 16:33) I am as human as anyone else, so that isn’t necessarily easy, but it does get easier with practice. There are things that face me right now for which the devil tries to feed me “what if” scenarios, but my response needs to be, “even if.” I am not to dwell on negatives, either potential or already experienced, but know that God can and will use everything for my good and His glory. (Romans 8:28)

Father, thank You for this reminder. My flesh is used to being anxious, but You have proved Yourself faithful more times than I could count. Help me indeed rest, relax, and rejoice in Christ Jesus my Lord, for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!