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SCRIPTURE READINGS
JEREMIAH 29:4-7
2 TIMOTHY 2:8-15
LUKE 17:11-19

REFLECTION

The “saving power of God” refers to God’s ability to rescue and deliver people from sin, danger, and despair, offering spiritual salvation, liberation, and redemption. We shall reflect on the following points.

1. In times of peril, we experience God’s saving power through prayer.
2. The saving power of God enables us to endure and attain eternal glory.
3. God is pleased when we show gratitude for the manifestation of His saving power in our lives.

Firstly, we experience the saving power of God through prayer in times of challenge. Our challenging situation cannot prevent us from experiencing the saving power of God, especially when we pray instead of accepting our lot. The Israelites in exile in Babylon during the Prophetic ministry of Jeremiah received a message of hope that God had not forgotten about them. He is with them even in exile or in the camp of their enemy. The said to them, “…seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the LORD for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.” (Jeremiah 29:7) In other words, if we pray to God we shall experience His saving power in the form of peace, security and prosperity. Again, we experience the saving power of God through healing when we call His name through our Lord Jesus Christ. In Luke 17:11-14, we read,  “Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus travelled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. 12 As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance 13 and called out in a loud voice, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!” 14 When he saw them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed.” The phrase “Jesus, Master, have pity on us” is the prayer of the lepers in their precarious situation. My dear friend in Christ, just like the Israelites in exile and the lepers, we are also emboldened to pray to God to bring our peculiar challenges before Him. Irrespective of our challenging situation, Paul encourages us to “Rejoice always, 17 pray continually, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18) God’s saving power was with Joseph when he was thrown into the pit by His brothers and later sold to slave traders. God’s saving power was with Hannah in her barrenness, and God’s saving power was with David when Saul wanted to kill him. God’s saving power was with Jesus Christ during His suffering, crucifixion and resurrection. He has assured, “call on me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honour me.” (Psalms 50:15). Stop focusing on the troubles and start living a life of prayer and faith.

Secondly, God’s saving power in our lives is not limited to our existential or physical needs; it guarantees our eternal life or glory. It is for this reason Paul wrote, “Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they too may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory. 11 Here is a trustworthy saying: If we died with him, we will also live with him; 12 if we endure, we will also reign with him.” (2 Timothy 2:10-12) We are admonished to accept Jesus as Lord and Saviour for the experienced saving power of God that guarantees eternal life and heavenly glory. No other power or principality can grant salvation. It is for this reason we are reminded in John 3:16-17 that “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”

Thirdly, God is pleased when we show gratitude to Him for the manifestation of His saving in our lives. Out of the ten lepers Jesus healed, only one came back to express his gratitude. One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. 16 He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan. 17 Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? 18 Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?” 19 Then he said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.” (Luke 17:15-19) Dear friend, we continue to experience the saving power of God in our lives when we learnt to live a life of gratitude. We are again reminded by the Psalmist about the importance of thanksgiving when he said “Sacrifice thank offerings to God, fulfil your vows to the Most High, 15 and call on me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honour me.” (Psalms 50:14-15) We can also express our thanksgiving to God through singing and giving testimony of what the Lord has done in our lives. Again, we can express our thanksgiving to God for experiencing His saving power by “offering our bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God…as our true and proper worship. Romans 12:1

In summary, we have discovered that in times of peril, we experience God’s saving power through prayer, which enables us to endure and attain eternal glory. Again, God is pleased when we show gratitude for the manifestation of His saving power in our lives. May the Holy Spirit empower us to continue experiencing the saving power of God in our lives. Amen.