As Far as the East is From the West – Dealing with Regret
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Tuesday, January 18, 2011“Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old.
Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth…”-Isaiah 43:18-19
Our society can easily be divided into two main categories of people: those who live in the past and those who live in the future. And while it’s true that both the past and the future hold a certain significance we should be careful not to overlook, too often people consume themselves with what is unchangeable and forget about the gift of today. As somebody once said, “The past is a good place to visit, but I wouldn't want to live there.”
“As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.”
-Psalm 103:12
In today’s Scripture, the Lord told Israel they needed to forget about their past. It wasn’t a good past, but that’s precisely why they needed to forget about it. God wanted their full attention to be on the work He was about to do - not on their previous failures. In the same way, I believe God is calling His people to quit feeling guilty about things He’s already forgiven them for. If you are saved through the blood of Christ, then you’re sins have been cast into His sea of forgetfulness (Micah 7:19), and are removed from you as far as the east is from the west. Why should we continue burdening ourselves with yesterday’s sin, when God Himself – the Judge of all things (Ecclesiastes 12:14) – has declared us justified?
“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”
-2 Corinthians 5:17
David couldn’t have describe forgiveness better than he did in Psalm 103:12. When you go north, you can only go so far before you find yourself going south; and if you keep going south, you’ll eventually find yourself going north. But when you turn east, you can go as far as you’d like and never run out of room. It just keeps going. East will never meat west, and west will never meat east. So far hath He removed our transgressions from us.
11 comments:
Dakota,
Thanks for stopping by at my blog. Delightful to meet you. Have you thought about going to seminary? God bless you richly as you seek his guidance for your life.
Mari-Anna
Very interesting perspective, Dakota! I completely agree with you!
Great reminder, Dakota! Yes, our sins have been removed as far as the east is from the west - something to rejoice over!! Thank you for following Life Lessons. It's a privilege to become one of your followers. It's so exciting to see a young man interested in memorizing God's Word and writing devotionals! God bless you richly as you continue to follow Him!!
Amen. Amen! God is so deeply incredible. I cannot quite fathom His Forgiveness! It is more then incredible!
I love that scripture in Isaiah. God is doing something new and we need to be focused on today.
God's grace is awesome and adds security to our present days. It is always best to live one day at a time and let God be our guide. Thank you for visiting my post and becoming a follower.
Hi,
I just wanted to say that I love this blog and you other one!! I think it is very neat and nice for a young guy like you....to be a christian!! So many are not. So....keep living for God!
~Victoria
North, east, south, west - having always been directionally challenged, I am just so glad that God always knows where we are going. Enjoyed your post. God bless you - Marsha
P.S. When I was your age, about all I knew was that the Beatles probably weren't going to stay together. YOU have a marvelous future ahead of you.
Great post! So very true...
Thanks for stopping by my blog. I like your comment about living in the past and feeling guilty about things already forgiven. Too often we hang on to those things, even when God has already wiped them off our slate. We need to trust God's forgiveness and to show that same forgiveness to others.
Thank you for such a timely Word! This really spoke to me, for I am someone who ruminates on the past a little bit too often sometimes. In fact, I was doing this today, feeling sorry for myself. Thanks for reminding me that God wants us to forget the former things, and behold He is doing a new thing! And that he has forgiven me for all of my past mistakes and failures. Amen!
You know, you are very, very wise. Well beyond your years!! I'm sure you've heard this before. Come visit me at http://virtuouswomanministry.blogspot.com
Blessings,
Judy
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