When our youngest child was nearing 10 years of age, she demonstrated an uncanny ability to sense what direction we were traveling in our family vehicle. The minivan had a built-in compass which displayed whatever cardinal direction we were moving in an abbreviated form. We would cover up the indicator and quiz our daughter — she nearly always got it right. But what she couldn’t understand at that young age was the abstract notion that a vehicle could continuously move in one direction away from the opposite direction from which it came for hours, even days.
In Psalm 103, David expresses praise to God for his compassion, focusing on how, so often, God doesn’t treat us as our sins deserve. In fact, his love for us is immeasurable! He draws upon this geographic concept of direction to illustrate how far apart God separates us from our sin once it is forgiven.
Do you struggle with accepting God’s forgiveness? Do you hold on to the false idea, implanted in your mind by Satan himself, that your sins are somehow in a category all their own? That it is impossible for your Heavenly Father to show you the same compassion he showers on others?
Recognize that God’s mercy is freely offered to everyone who accepts his gracious offer of forgiveness through the blood of Jesus Christ, his only Son. You cannot run far enough to escape his love. Accept that truth today.
Dear Father, it is hard to comprehend your mercy. Help me believe that my sins really are forgiven so I can walk into a new day of faith in you, ready to serve you unburdened by the past. Amen.
Go Deeper — Look to the east, then pivot and look as far as you can to the west. Imagine that is how far God has separated his wrath from your confessed sin. Thank Jesus once again for covering that sin by his sacrifice.
Read Further — Do you want to learn how to truly live as a forgiven person?
Photo Credit: rawpixel.com