[Tuesday's Devotional] - Heavenbound

The Hebrew word for salvation is Yasha, meaning: "to be wide, or roomy - a broad and spacious place." Yasha communicates the idea of freedom. It is "liberation from confinement, constriction, and limitation." The word for salvation in the Greek language is the word sozo or soteria, meaning "cure, recovery, remedy."

 

The remedy for pressure is not evacuation, the answer is the opposite; it is to exert force on the pressure. Some of you may have experienced the thrill of a hot-air balloon ride, however if this thought fills you with dread please bear with my analogy.

 

I was fortunate enough to experience a hot-air balloon ride in 2006 while holidaying at the New Wine Conference in Somerset. I had been in a tough place during the preceding months, however, as I soared into the air I had a little chuckle to myself – each year New Wine has a theme and in 2006 the title was ‘Heavenbound’. As I floated heaven-bound, I had a sense that God would replace the recent months of struggle with some serenity.

 

Even if you haven’t been in a hot air balloon, I’m sure you will know that when losing height, when you are falling, you don’t bail out!  Instead you exert pressure and turn up the heat. Hot air balloons work because the hot air rises; by heating the air inside the balloon with the burner it becomes lighter than the cooler air on the outside, which causes the balloon to float heaven-bound. Pilots have a great deal of control over the altitude and we too can adjust our altitude. When we feel like we are falling we can fill-up with the fire of God, the Holy Spirit will rise up and be our helper.

 

“When hard pressed, I cried to the LORD; he brought me into a spacious place.”

Psalm 118:5 [NIV]

 

If you have time, listen to this lovely duet from the Marriage of Figaro by Mozart: (7 mins)

 

 

Dawn Milward