The ONE Salvation for my Soul
by Shauna Wallace
As my daughter’s wedding approached the two-weeks-to-go mark, there were a few circumstances causing her great anxiety. One morning, as I spent my time with the Lord, the book I was reading led me to Psalm 27, and it spoke straight to our situation. It was such an encouragement to me, and I thought it might be to her, as well, so I emailed her the following note. Perhaps it is something the Lord will use to encourage you as well. As you read it, keep in mind it is written specific to where we were at the time, but God’s word is timeless and applicable to all of us in any circumstance! The bolded and underlined remarks in parentheses are my comments to her.
Here’s the note…
I’m reading and journaling through a book called Waiting on God by Andrew Murray. The entire premise is that our soul waits on Him alone for salvation. The Lord is showing me how many other things I wait on instead of Him to bring salvation or relief – like a day at home without demands, then I would finally be okay. Or a good night’s sleep. That would fix things. Or balanced hormones!!! But all of that is temporary; my soul waits upon Him alone for salvation; He alone is the source of our salvation in the challenging moments of each day and every relationship and for eternity. So this morning, the author referenced Psalm 27. As I copied it in my journal, I wondered if it would comfort, encourage and strengthen you right now. I added a few thoughts after a few verses. I love you, and everything is going to be okay, not because of anything we do, but because of the God in whom we trust; the God upon whom our souls wait for salvation, even in finishing all the details for your wedding. Even in dreading the attention and the potentially stressful circumstances. In it all, God is our only source of salvation. But we have to take courage and trust Him. We have to believe He is our salvation and will get us through. I don’t share any of this with accusation, but rather from a place of needing to hear it all myself.
PSALM 27
“The Lord is my light and my salvation;
Whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the strength of my life;
Of whom shall I be afraid?”
(When we are focused on God, we have nothing and no one to fear, even unpredictable people and events.)
“When the wicked came against me
To eat up my flesh,
My enemies and foes,
They stumbled and fell.”
(There’s a spiritual battle raging against you and Chase, your wedding and our family. The devil doesn’t want to see this union and wants nothing more than to destroy all of us and everything about this covenant. Your enemies will stumble and fall!)
“Though an army may encamp against me,
My heart shall not fear;
Though war may rise against me,
In this I will be confident.”
(When our hearts don’t fear it’s not because we all of a sudden wake up without the emotion of fear; it’s because we determine to focus on the goodness, faithfulness and power of God. We choose not to let our hearts fear.)
“One thing I have desired of the Lord,
That will I seek:
That I may dwell in the house of the Lord
All the days of my life,
To behold the beauty of the Lord,
And to inquire in His temple.”
(What is the one thing you seek right now?)
“For in the time of trouble
He shall hide me in His pavilion;
In the secret place of His tabernacle
He shall hide me;
He shall set me high upon a rock.
And now my head shall be lifted up above my enemies all around me;”
(When we seek His presence and the power of the Holy Spirit, and when we inquire of Him because we know He alone has and is our answer, we are hidden in Him! He lifts our heads even though we are still surrounded by enemies. The circumstances of our challenges/trials may not change, but He will lift us above it all! He may not spare us, just like He didn’t spare His own Son, but He will carry us through according to His sovereign plan to accomplish His will.)
“Therefore I will offer sacrifices of joy in His tabernacle;
I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the Lord.
Hear, O Lord, when I cry with my voice!”
(It’s called a sacrifice of joy because it costs us something — we offer Him our joy even when our circumstances aren’t making us feel joyful. It costs us the fleshly satisfaction of being miserable and hopeless/helpless and instead we trust. It costs us the illusion of being in control and instead we trust. We choose joy. And we sing praises to the Lord, focusing on Him and what is certain about Him.)
“Have mercy also upon me, and answer me.
When You said, “Seek My face,”
My heart said to You, “Your face, Lord, I will seek.”
Do not hide Your face from me;
Do not turn Your servant away in anger;
You have been my help;
Do not leave me nor forsake me,
O God of my salvation.”
(We seek His face. It is all He asks of us — to seek Him. Not to seek relief or certain answers. Not to have our way or get what we want. We seek His face because His face is what we want. He doesn’t turn us away. He never leaves or forsakes us. He is the God of our salvation!)
“When my father and my mother forsake me,
Then the Lord will take care of me.”
(Even if our parents “forsake” us in whatever form we may fear, the Lord will take care of us!)
“Teach me Your way, O Lord,
And lead me in a smooth path, because of my enemies.
Do not deliver me to the will of my adversaries;
For false witnesses have risen against me,
And such as breathe out violence.”
(When we ask, He will teach us what to do in the face of our challenges and challenging relationships. He will lead us in a smooth path when we are following His instruction.)
“I would have lost heart, unless I had believed
That I would see the goodness of the Lord
In the land of the living.
Wait on the Lord;
Be of good courage,
And He shall strengthen your heart;
Wait, I say, on the Lord!”
(If we don’t hang on to hope that we will see the goodness of God right here on earth as we live our daily lives, WE WILL LOSE HEART. In the same way, when we’ve lost heart, chances are we’re putting our hope in something or someone else. Our hope can be in God alone in all things. We can be of good courage because GOD WILL STRENGTHEN OUR HEARTS! And so, our souls wait on Him alone for salvation.)
I know this was a long email. These last days promise to be demanding and stressful, but they can be full of hope and the salvation of the Lord. Don’t let the pressure of what has to be done steal from your time in God’s word, in His presence, and in prayer. Nothing is worthy of your time more than that. No deadline is more important. And let’s remember, the purpose of marriage is to glorify Jesus; it is a picture of His love for the church. Our purpose, then, in everything we do in planning the wedding is to glorify Jesus. In that sense, the pressure is off! You and Chase aren’t the center of attention; Jesus is! You can focus on how you can direct the attention to Jesus!
May the Lord through His word encourage and strengthen you today, sweet sister, and may your soul wait on God alone for salvation.
-Shauna
An inspirational writer, teacher, and speaker, Shauna Wallace burns with passion to see women experience the fullness of God’s grace, faithfulness, peace, joy, protection, and provision by becoming wholly His. Finding hope and life in God’s word motivates her to help other women discover God’s power to transform lives.
Transparent and real, she opens her life and heart to encourage others. She and her husband, James, serve their church, community, and clients of their custom home building business. As a homeschooling stay-at-home mother of four, Shauna treasures the privilege of being James’ helpmate and training her children in the ways of the Lord. Check Out Shauna’s Blog Here!
