Read: Psalm 103: 9-13
God is collecting His anger
over the sin of mankind in a cup of wrath. He also declares that He will not
always strive with us or harbor His anger forever. God does not want anyone to
perish (2 Peter 3:9). His desire is that everyone will spend eternity with Him.
He does not even make us pay the consequences we deserve for our sins. Once we
repent, He covers us with the blood of Jesus and He casts our sins
as far as
the east is from the west (Psalm 103:12).
Imagine a plane flying
north. Once it reaches the North Pole, and follows the curve of the earth, it
will begin to head south. So, if God removed our transgressions from us as far
as the north is from the south, there would be a definite limit to His
forgiveness.
Now, imagine a plane flying
east. When does it start to fly west? At what point does the east meet the
west? It never does. There is no polar axis going through the earth from east
and west as there is going north to south. The plane continues flying east
until it lands or runs out of fuel. It never, ever meets the west. That is
exactly how far from us God removed our sins. They will never ever catch up
with us. They will never be returned to us or thrown back up into our face.
They are gone forever.
Our Heavenly Father has
compassion on those who fear Him. Once we recognize the omniscience, the
omnipresence, the omnipotence of God, we realize how truly great He is. Jesus
paid a debt, which He did not owe. He suffered persecution and crucifixion for
sins, which He did not commit.
When we realize the great
sacrifice, which He made for us, we have no recourse but to fall on our face
and repent of our sins. We are humbled by His love, grace and mercy, which we
do not deserve. We reverence Him as He deserves to be worshipped. At some point
we ultimately make up our mind to serve Him with every ounce of fiber in our
being, because of the obligation we owe the perfect Lamb without spot of
blemish for paying our sin debt for us.
Having an eternal
viewpoint of our life on this earth, gives us a whole new perspective on what
we experience. The carnal world and fleshly desires fade away, and we focus on
doing the will of God (1 John 2:17). We learn to be content just as Paul did
when he was shipwrecked, beaten, imprisoned, hungry, exhausted, lonely and
forsaken by everyone he held dear (Philippians 4:12).
Prayer:
Lord Jesus, we will
rejoice in You always (Philippians 4:4). Help us to trust in You, instead of
relying on our human wisdom (Proverbs 3:5). This way we will walk in Your perfect
will for us moment by moment throughout the day.
Thought for the
Day:
As Christians, we
receive such a feeling of oneness with our Creator, such fulfillment from
helping others in their time of need and such a deep joy in His love that it defies
description (1 Peter 1:8). 