You're Never Beyond Reach
Lie: I have gone too far. I could never be fully forgiven.
Truth: Psalm 103:10-12
He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities.
For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.
We have all had those moments we are not proud of…times we have fallen short. It doesn't matter how big the sin is in our eyes or how small and justifiable that offense was in our eyes. Sin is sin. We have all missed the mark, sometimes failing miserably!
If we stop to think about what God “might” have done or what suffering He “could” have brought on us because of these transgressions – it most likely would be what we deserved. After all, “sin” is anything that is contrary to the will of God. And if God were like us, He would likely inflict punishment on us until it reached a point where the punishment fairly measured the sin.
But God doesn’t deal with us according to our sin; He deals with us according to His purpose and mercy. And God’s purpose was to restore relationship with us by letting the punishment for our sin fall on Jesus. Isaiah 53:6 says “All of us were like sheep that were lost, each of us going his own way. But the Lord made the punishment fall on him, the punishment all of us deserved.”
In love and mercy, God removes our sins from us. And He doesn’t just move them to our doorstep (so we can be aware of them whenever we leave the house). God moves them as far as the east is from the west.
What an analogy. No matter how far you go east….you will always be moving east. The psalmist was making a point here. To say that God separates our sin as far as the east is from the west speaks of how irrevocably God forgives us.
You could never go too far to be forgiven. If you were to search for the sins God has removed from you, you would never find them. As a blood-bought child of God, you are fully forgiven. Keep walking forward, focused on God, His Word, and His Promises!!
By Pastor Carol Coen