“I’ve sinned too much.” “I’ve sunk too low.”
It is not unusual for me to hear those kinds of words. Add to it the thoughts of “God could never forgive me” or “There’s no way I deserve God’s forgiveness” and you almost have word for word what I often hear.
Well, they are correct and also incorrect in their assessment. Correct: “I’ve sinned too much” (once is too many). “There is no way I deserve God’s forgiveness.” Incorrect: “God could never forgive me.” The hard truth is that we have sinned (and as I said once is too much). AND we do not deserve God’s forgiveness.
The startling truth is that He reaches down to us no matter how far we have fallen. No matter how deep of a hole we have dug for ourselves.
I have just finished reading over the past two days a trifecta of chapters from the book of Psalms-chapters 104, 105 & 106. They read like a litany of bad history. 104 starts out well talking about the greatness of God and the goodness of God. It’s almost like preparation for what was to come. 105 opens with giving thanks to God for His care of them while in Egypt and how He brought them out of that strange land. Intertwined is how He cared for them in spite of their grumbling. But 106! WOW! Talk about a past one would just as soon forget!! The psalmist (David?) gives a history lesson of the faithlessness of the Israelites- grumbling about water and food; worshiping a golden calf; sacrificing their children to a foreign god; the list goes on.
Through it all-in spite of His anger and yes, judgment that He must do-is a faithful God. A God who made and makes promises and sticks to them. A God of whom the psalmist writes, “Save us, O Lord our God! Gather us back from among the nations, so we can thank your holy name and rejoice and praise you. Praise the Lord, the God of Israel, who lives from everlasting to everlasting! Let all the people say, ‘Amen!'”
If He can do that for His wayward, faithless, stumbling people, what makes us think we can sink too far down and can’t be reached?
To think we have sinned too much that our God cannot forgive us is to make Him too small to really accomplish anything on our behalf. We neglect what He has promised us through His one and only Son – if we truly believe and repent, our sins are erased in His eyes. I’m reminded that with our Father nothing is impossible.
Blessings, Bill!
You are right on the money Martha. We are never too far down or gone.
Thankful for a God of unending and undeserved favor. Without His grace I (we), would be without any hope. With His grace, we can trust that His promises are true. Nothing can separate us from His love and forgiveness as long as we are willing to simply acknowledge Jesus as our Savior and put our trust in Him. He truly paid the full price admission for us all. We just need to enter choose to enter His gates.
Well said Ryan. BTW: I was going to correct your last sentence but didn’t want to presume I knew what you meant to say. 🙂
Feel free to correct, typing on phone not my forte.
I have been reading everyday three Psalm’s 97,98,100, for the Easter season, and I have just continued doing so because all three of those Psalms shout out praise and glorify God. Everytime I think about how the Creator of all things, God Almighty, the Great I AM, sent a Savior to save me, He knows my name, He loves me, He forgives me, I simply cannot be more blessed than that.
I admire that Gail. The key to learning and knowing Scripture is repetition. And you are right: to know we are forgiven, loved and had a Savior sent for us is a blessing we cannot forget.
praising God for that grace that is greater than all our sins!
Oh yeah!!