Volume 1 · Week 13 — The Joy of Salvation
Day 86 — Continuing Our Journey with Joy
Main verse
“And when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, that the eunuch saw him no more: and he went on his way rejoicing.”
— Acts 8:39 (KJV)
Meditation
The man from Ethiopia was traveling a long road. He held an important position in the queen’s service, but his status as a foreigner and his condition as a eunuch may also have reminded him that finding his place in Jerusalem’s religious community was not easy.
On his way home, he was reading the prophet Isaiah without fully understanding the meaning. God sent Philip to meet him. Beginning with the passage he was reading, Philip told him the good news of Jesus.
When the two travelers came to some water, the Ethiopian asked, “What doth hinder me to be baptized?” Perhaps this question carried the weight of many barriers he had encountered before. But this time, grace opens a way for him.
After his baptism, Philip disappears. The man receives neither every answer nor extended companionship. Yet he continues his journey with joy. He is not simply returning to his country; he returns with a renewed identity and good news to carry.
The joy of salvation does not necessarily take us away from our ordinary road. It sends us back to it differently. Work, responsibilities, and long distances remain, but we no longer pass through them with the same heart.
We sometimes wait for a spectacular change before allowing ourselves to rejoice. Yet joy can arise from a truth received: in Jesus Christ, no origin, no wound, and no past exclusion places us beyond the reach of grace.
Today, we can continue our own journey with this assurance. Not everything is resolved, but we no longer walk without hope.
Psalm
Psalm 68:3–6 (KJV)
3 But let the righteous be glad; let them rejoice before God: yea, let them exceedingly rejoice. 4 Sing unto God, sing praises to his name: extol him that rideth upon the heavens by his name Jah, and rejoice before him. 5 A father of the fatherless, and a judge of the widows, is God in his holy habitation. 6 God setteth the solitary in families: he bringeth out those which are bound with chains: but the rebellious dwell in a dry land.
Further Bible reading
Isaiah 56:3–8; Acts 8:26–40; Galatians 3:26–29
Suggested hymn
The Church Hymnal (1941), no. 369 — “Come, Let Us Anew Our Journey Pursue”
Prayer
Lord Jesus, thank you for the grace that breaks down barriers and welcomes those who thought themselves kept at a distance. Help me fully receive my identity in you. May this assurance transform the way I continue my journey and make my life a witness to joy and hope. Amen.
A thought to keep
Salvation does not always shorten the road; it allows me to travel it with a new joy.
Personal Notes
What would you like to remember, pray about, or put into practice today?