As Far as the East is From the West
He does not punish us as we deserve or repay us according to our sins and wrongs.
As high as the sky is above the earth, so great is His love for those who honor Him.
As far as the east is from the west, so far does He remove our sins from us.
Psalm 103:10-12
When our past failures haunt us. It seems as if our sins follow us from room to room.
No matter how hard we try they’re there, and we feel defeated and labeled:
* Sinner
* Liar
* Greedy
* Gossip
* Hater
* Racist
*Judge
* Etc.
The Enemy taunts us for giving into temptation
and whispers reminders of every shortcoming and imperfection.
We try to ignore him, and at times we’re able to fool ourselves,
but then our messes overwhelm us as we live out
consequences caused by foolish words and actions.
David said,
When I refused to confess my sin,
my body wasted away,
and I groaned all day long.
Finally, I confessed all my sins to You
and stopped trying to hide my guilt.
I said to myself, “I will confess my rebellion to the Lord.”
And You forgave me! All my guilt is gone.
Psalm 32:3,5
Father, You forgive us completely. Every-time. Without exception. Jesus endured our punishment. Our guilt. Our shame. Our labels. And through Him You declare us forgiven. Not with half-hearted words like we forgive, but with pure unconditional overcoming love. Satan is defeated. Help us to focus on who You are and what You’ve done. Help us to live in Your victory with humble obedient joy. Change us Father. We want to be like Jesus.
Forgive us for being self-absorbed. It’s hard to understand why we are willing to wallow in self-pity denying Your grace. You teach us by allowing us to live out the consequences of our behavior, and we blame You for not protecting us from ourselves. May we place Your Word in our hearts and remember that, “You do not punish us as we deserve, You cover us with sky-high love, and remove our sins . . . as far as the east is from the west. Thanks and praise now and forever. Amen.