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

YOU ARE TRULY FORGIVEN

I took a walk on the beach this morning as the sun was rising.

The LORD helps me to be very ‘present’ in the moment when I’m by the sea. I love these walks because when I’m finished, I always feel so refreshed, like I just had a mini vacay.

It’s like all my senses engage. I can taste and smell the salty air, hear the seagulls crying, feel the cool breeze on my face and the sugar soft sand between my toes.

The rising sun, the crashing waves, the beautiful sunrise, the glistening turquoise water and the vast horizon is alot to take in. 

And I love watching the little birds with their 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 a holy awe and reverance of His fierce power. But I know each time I walk along the endless shore, I’m really only getting a teeny tiny glimpse of His true 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 lol. How about you?

As I walked, my foot landed on the topside of a broken shell. I picked it up and studied it, then threw it out into the waves 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. 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 collected different translations of certain keywords to expand on this verse so you can really feel the impact of what is being said here …

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.

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

Lots of strong words used here, right?

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 all 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 deepest part 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 and 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 trying. The Lord truly vanquished our sins, to be found no more.

So what is with all the condemnation from the enemy? 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 you’re tempted to wade into the murky waters of fear, shame and doubt, remind yourself that you have no business there. And when satan starts with his accusations, boldly hold up your shield of faith and refuse to dignify his lies with a response. Just keep living in the freedom Jesus secured for you and me.

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 in Christ. Saturate your soul in HIS truth today …

Hugs and Prayers,

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

You are Truly Forgiven @ freshgracefortoday.com

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