White Out
Today’s Verse:
Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy. ~Micah 7:18
In his book How to Keep God Alive from Nine to Five, John Chervokas wrote about opaquing fluid. He said, “Opaquing fluid is the magical liquid that covers over your errors, your typos, your unfortunate slip-ups. You brush on the liquid and start all over again—hopefully this time with no unfortunate slip-ups. Opaquing fluid is forgiveness, an obliteration of a goof with no telltale traces that the goof happened at all.” We know this wonderful fluid by its brand name Wite-Out®. Micah asked, “Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity?”
We see the pardon.
He pardons our iniquity. There is complete and total forgiveness of all our sins. A pardon is an entire acquittal of all charges of iniquity. There is exoneration in a pardon. There is a discharge of all sin that we are guilty of. It is more powerful than a presidential pardon: it is a sovereign pardon by the God of this universe. There is expunging in a pardon. The record against us is completely cleared. The past sins cannot come back and condemn us. God, in His mercy, removes the complaint and stain of sin against us.
We see the passover.
The passover is a strong way of describing that God does not hold our sin against us. It is a description of how merciful God is in His forgiveness. It is giving us a fresh and new start. Our human nature has a hard time “passing over” someone who has sinned against us. This results in the sin always coming back as a grievance and breach of relationship. When the Lord instituted the Passover sacrifice for Israel, He said “When I see the blood, I will pass over you.” He passes over judging us in His forgiveness.
We see the pity.
“He retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy.” We see divine patience at work. When He forgives, He does not hold a grudge against us. Our human tendency is to have an anger flareup when the thought of how we were offended comes to our mind. God, on the other hand, is not like this. Instead, He is full of mercy and pity towards us. God wants to see us restored to fellowship with Him. God wants us living in the shadow of His love and protection and not under a shadow of fear, punishment, and retribution. Truly, as our Heavenly Father, He is ever merciful towards us.
We see the placement.
“He will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.” The word subdue means “to trample under feet.” God is greater than our sins. Our sins were defeated at the cross when Jesus shed His blood and died for us. Not only are our sins trampled under His feet, but He casts them into the depths of the sea. “Their sins and iniquities will I remember no more.” Our sins are buried so far below in the ocean that they can never rise to the surface to bother us. Who is a God that pardoneth iniquity? When it comes to forgiveness, there is no comparison to God!
Have a blessed God Morning!
Bible Reading Schedule: Jeremiah 30-31