Guilt, shame, and awareness of our own sin are the most common tools the enemy uses to keep us from realizing the incredible mercy of God. Think about it for a moment. Do you ever "feel" undeserving of God's love to the extent that you find it hard to approach Him with your needs? Do you ever struggle to open your heart up to Him with total transparency because of sin you may have entertained? Do you ever feel like you deserve distance from God because of something you've done or said or even thought?

Many of us, if not all of us, struggle with this from time to time. The enemy looks for every opportunity to silence us by convincing us that God wants nothing to do with us because we've messed up. And while there is need for us to humbly and sincerely repent when we miss the mark, God is always there for us, eager to forgive us and pour out His great mercy toward us.

"For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him. As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us" (Psalm 103:11-12).

How far is the east from the west?

How high is the heaven above the earth?

Immeasurable? Yes!

Unfathomable? Yes!

Unexplainable? Absolutely!

Unthinkable? Yes!

His mercy, His love, His forgiveness—there is no way to measure it, no way to explain it, no way to comprehend it, but it's there. We don't deserve it, yet He has provided it to us freely.

What a wonderful thought! What a humbling thought! The Psalmist wrote of his unmistakable revelation of God's mercy: our sins are so far removed from us that the distance is unfathomable, immeasurable, unthinkable, unexplainable, and, oh, so undeserved.

What an awesome God we serve!

Lord, I stand in awe of your gift of mercy, so undeserved yet given so freely. Your mercy—a gift which cost You so much, yet You give it to anyone who asks with a sincere heart. I am overwhelmed as I consider Your goodness and Your kindness. Thank You for loving me so. I don't deserve it, but I am so grateful for your gift of Mercy. Oh Lord, Thank You!

"In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace" (Ephesians 1:7).

© Jan Ross
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