Today’s reading: Psalm 1-3; Acts 16:1-15
8 Salvation belongs to the Lord; your blessing be on your people! Selah Psalm 3:8
14 One who heard us was a woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple goods, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul. 15 And after she was baptized, and her household as well, she urged us, saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay.” And she prevailed upon us. Acts 16:14-15
God is sovereign over salvation. It belongs to Him. He uses means, such as the preaching of the gospel, but He determines who is saved and He opens the hearts of those He chooses for salvation so that they pay attention to the preacher.
The Psalmist, David, was in dire straits. According to the title of Psalm 3, this was written during his exile from Jerusalem while his son, Absalom, briefly overthrew his father and held the kingdom. David turned to God in the crisis, recognizing that only the Lord could save him. “Salvation belongs to the LORD,” he affirms. Absalom had skillfully won over the people of Israel to support him. David was on the run. The table was set for David to be assassinated and for Absalom to take firm control of the kingdom.
Yet, “salvation belongs to the LORD.” David held to that truth, and, against all odds, Absalom listened to David’s planted adviser, Hushai, who purposely gave him bad advice. Absalom followed it, and died in the ensuing battle (II Samuel 17-18). God saved David physically. The Lord is not limited to the odds set by probability.
Lydia was a worshiper of God, a Gentile woman who believed in the God of Israel and the moral law of Moses without adopting the dietary and ceremonial laws. Luke tells us that the Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what Paul said. Without the intervention of the Holy Spirit, neither a Lydia nor anyone else is able to hear and believe the gospel (Jeremiah 13:23; John 6:44, 65; Romans 9:16; 1 Corinthians 2:14; 2 Thessalonians 2:13-14; 2 Timothy 1:9-10). God saved Lydia spiritually. [1]
How does your confidence in the truth “salvation belongs to the Lord” affect your prayer life and your daily confidence in Him? Can you lay down and sleep, knowing that the Lord will sustain you? Can you proclaim the gospel to others knowing that God will open hearts, as He wills, so that they pay attention to the message, believe it, and are saved? Think about it.
[1] The Reformation Study Bible notes p. 1945
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