FORGIVENESS (Part 1)
"Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord; O Lord, hear my voice.
Let your ears be attentive to my cry for mercy.
If you, O Lord, kept a record of sins, O Lord, who could stand?
But with you there is forgiveness; therefore you are feared.
I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I put my hope.
My soul waits for the Lord...
O Israel, put your hope in the Lord,
for with the Lord is unfailing love and with him is full redemption.
He himself will redeem Israel from all their sins."
If ever a week comes upon me that I have to literally cry, sob, convulse out to the Lord for help it was this past weekend! I was in the "depths" of a circumstance that I've been asking God to breakthrough in through the walls of silence. Well it felt as if all of the enemies alliances were forming against me in the spiritual realm. I cried out for MERCY! And as the walls were crumbling my heart was breaking and shouting...
"Oh God, please help me! I cannot do this on my own! I need Your mercy to get me through this extremely difficult thing!"
At times like these I could allow gloom to invade my life - my soul (and it darn well tried) - the darkness of fear, of worry, of inadequacy, of impatience and then the oh so not-so-favored anger; and it is because of this intruding darkness that I need to be rescued.
I NEED A REDEEMER
I NEED A HERO
I NEED A RESCUER
Why? Because these attitudes, if I allow them to, cause me to sin! Therefore...
I NEED FORGIVENESS
And forgiveness I cry out for! Praise God for His unfailing love, because with Him is full redemption! Let's continue on in Ephesians 1:7...
"In Him (Jesus) we have redemption through His blood,
the forgiveness of sins..."
Definition of: forgiveness - a pardon, a giving up of resentment; a ceasing to feel resentment against.
redemption - rescue, ransom, salvation.
I remember as a child possessing a fear of depth. I remember specifically that one of our friends had a pool and one day we visited when the pool had been drained empty. Peeking over the edge my innards turned upside down and I froze because I was terrified of the emptiness, the depth.
I, also, recall a time when I was a bit older my family visited Oregon and there is a popular dam (yeah, so popular that I can't come up with the name! ) in which we just had to stop and experience it. Again, my insides flipped and what I feared was falling...(I suppose that is a fear of heights as well, but there's more to it) ...falling into the "depth" where darkness could overwhelm me and I would not be able to get out on my own. How true this is in my life now as an adult.
I have, in my past, fallen into a certain type of "depth" and darkness did invade and took control. There was no way of getting out or past it with my own strength (and I experienced a bit of the same "control" this past weekend); and believe me I tried. I tried numbing the pain by escaping it through different avenues (bad choices...and this being in the past) instead of facing the pain head on. And head on to my face I did fall flat, and it did hurt both physically, emotionally, and spiritually. It was by the grace of God, though, that I was pulled out. He rescued me from the darkness and forgave me of the sin that I had fallen into.
Jesus in my Redeemer! And in Him there is forgiveness !
Today as I face certain challenges as a mother, a wife, and a friend I know that I can call out to my Redeemer and ask for help, for strength, for forgiveness and He WILL give it to me. I know this, because He has already done so.
Next week I will explain more about "who" this Redeemer is and share more of the details of "what" He actually did. But this week let me challenge you with this:
*What have been the challenges in your life that you have faced or are now facing?
*Are you walking through the storm and facing it or are you trying to run from it?
*Lastly, will you accept God's peace among the chaos or continue to be torn to pieces by the circumstances?
(and let me encourage you by saying that I came out of this past weekend with victory and joy! God has done a work and is continuing that work to completion!)
Reflect on Nahum 1:7 and let it be a "treasure" of encouragement to you.
My friends, there is victory, always, if we invite and believe Jesus to be our Redeemer, our Savior (I John 5:4,5). Let me pray for you this week: God, as Redeemer and Savior, thank You for Your new mercies every morning. I pray that You, O Lord, would cause our hearts to be softened to Your love so that we may be directed by Your peace at all times and in every way (and circumstance). I pray this in Jesus Name, Amen! (ref. 2 Thessalonians 3:5,16)
Enjoying My Kup...
Cindy
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