Therefore, if anyone is in CHRIST, she is a new creation. The old has passed away; Behold, the new has come. 2 Corinthians 5:17 (Verse on Bible Hub) 

YOU ARE TRULY FORGIVEN

I took a walk on the beach this morning as the sun was rising. The Lord somehow helps me to be very ‘present’ in the moment when I’m by the water. I love these walks because when I’m done, I always feel refreshed, like I just had a mini getaway.

It’s like all my senses engage. I can smell the salty air, hear the seagulls squawking and the roar of the surf, feel the breeze on my face and the soft white sand between my toes.

The rising sun, the crashing waves, the beautiful pink and blue sky, the glistening teal water, and the vast expansiveness of the horizon is alot to take in.

And I love watching the little birds with their skinny (and speedy) little legs as they chase the retreating waves and then turn and try to outrun the foamy water as it surges back onto the beach.

All this points to one thing for me … GOD.

The ocean fills me with an awe of His fierce power. But each time I’m walking along the shore, I’m really only getting just a teeny tiny glimpse of His strength.

Away from the distractions of life, I can feel His Spirit pretty strongly while simultaneously being aware that He (God Himself) is holding together all this that I see around me. God not only created this extremely powerful ocean, but He sustains it. He allows it to only come so far (as it chases the little birds back onto the sand) but then orders it to retreat back into itself. I am just so in awe of Him. How about you?

As I walked, my foot lands on the topside of a partially broken shell. I picked it up and threw it out into the ocean so the next walker might not step on it. But I was sure at one point, the strong waves would wash that little shell back onto the sand.

This reminded me of Micah 7:19 which says:

“You will again have compassion on us; You will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea (NIV). 

Sometimes the enemy tries to flood us with fear and doubt, and we begin to question whether God has truly forgiven and accepted us. Believe me, Sister, when I say I KNOW how awful condemnation feels. It is no joke.

But this beautiful verse points us to the truth of what God did with our sins when we repented. I went to Bible Hub and, using the different translations of certain keywords, I will expand the verse so you can really feel the impact of what is happening here ok?

You (GOD) will again have compassion (mercy) on us; You will tread (trample, vanquish, subdue, conquer, overcome, put away) our sins (iniquities, evil deeds, wrong doing) underfoot and hurl (throw, cast, send) all our iniquities into the depths (bottom, deepest part) of the sea. Micah 7:19 

Trample. Vanquish. Subdue. Conquer. Overcome. Throw. Cast. Hurl.

And this …. into the deepest part of the sea!

Lots of strong words used here, right?

Believe me, when I told you that I ‘threw’ that broken shell out into the waves, it was more like I just ‘tossed’ or ‘lofted’ it. So it definitely didn’t get very far and was no match for the powerful waves.

When our girls were little, we spent a lot of time at their daddy’s softball games. A few times, Rick would forget his strength and we would watch from the stands as he threw the ball in from the outfield. It would sail over all the players, clear the tall fence behind homeplate, and smash into the score keepers building with a loud thud.

Remembering this, I can’t even imagine what it would look like to watch God ‘hurl’ something. Well, we are told where our sins landed. In the ‘depths’ of the sea.

So I googled and discovered the deepest part of the ocean is called the Challenger Deep, which is a section of the Mariana Trench. The Challenger Deep is 36,070 feet deep. It is located in the Pacific Ocean, a few hundred miles southwest of the US Territory of Guam.

I also learned that divers can dive down 20-30 feet and spend many hours before having to decompress. But down near 100 feet, they could only spend about 20 minutes before needing to relieve the pressure.

The ocean is powerful isn’t it?

We could never dive down 36,070 feet to retrieve our sins without getting crushed. The Lord truly vanquished our sins, to be found no more. 

So what the heck is the enemy going on and on about with his condemnation and ridiculous guilt trips? He has no more access to our old sins than we do! We forget sometimes that Satan has absolutely nothing on us anymore. Next time he starts with his accusations, just boldly hold up your shield of faith to block him and don’t dignify his lies with a response!

Girlfriend, you know that little broken shell I tossed this morning? The tide will probably wash it back onto the beach by this evening. Someone else will pick it up and either keep it or toss it.

But whenever you begin to wonder if you’ve really been forgiven, remember this …

The moment you repented and asked Jesus to be your Lord and Savior, your sins were not just tossed into the sea. Almighty God trampled them under His feet and then hurled them into the deepest, darkest part of the ocean where they were crushed and vanquished forever. They will never wash back ashore ever again.

God loves you, my Sister. Saturate your soul in this truth today.

Live Loved Today …

Mightier than the thunder of the great waters, mightier than the breakers of the sea, the LORD on high is mighty. Psalm 93:4 (Verse on Bible Hub)

You are Truly Forgiven @ freshgracefortoday.com

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