Today's Bible Reading: NEHEMIAH 8:13-10:39
Nehemiah 9:17
They refused to obey and were not mindful of the wonders that you performed among them, but they stiffened their neck and appointed a leader to return to their slavery in Egypt. But you are a God ready to forgive, gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and did not forsake them.
Sometimes we sense we have so violated the principles of God, that we have done something so heinous, that forgiveness is impossible. Our hopes of reconciliation are far removed. We have so alienated ourselves from the Almighty that forgiveness is forfeited. His grace and mercy may be afforded to others, but not to us. Yet here we find our hope. Here we find His mercy manifest and His grace given. It is when we consult the Scripture that we are comforted. It is in His word that we get a glimpse His character and we gaze on His attributes. It is in the story of His dealings with Israel that we find solace and we take heart.
God’s goodness was graciously bestowed on His chosen people. It was given freely to them providing for all their needs. They were without want. They were cared for by their Creator. He loved them. He led them. He looked out for them. He lavished everything upon them.
But they become proud, oblivious to all that He had done. They refused to obey. They became a stubborn, stiff-necked people. They deliberately disregarded Him. Disdaining His decrees, Defiant, they defected. Desiring Egypt over the eternal one, they rebelled. They turned away.
He would be just in punishing them and right in reproving them. And for a time, He did, disciplining them. Yet even in this He was a God “ready to forgive”. He was slow in displaying His anger and gracious and merciful toward them. His was not to forsake them, but to forgive them. His was to love them, not leave them.
This is great news in our unforgiving world. A cold-hearted culture that is merciless and unrelenting. A society that stands ready, ready for resentment, ready for retribution and ready for retaliation. They hold on to grudges and hand out unforgiveness. They’re ready.
But that is not our God. He freely offers forgiveness to all. He bestows forgiveness that is found in Christ. Our sin-stained garment is placed on Jesus. His righteous robe is wrapped around us. So, regardless of where you have been, what you have done, or how often you have done it, He stands ready, ready to forgive. He is ready to dispense His mercy for our misgivings, His grace for our guilt, and His forgiveness for our failure. He stands ready. Ready when you are. So, forsake your folly and find His forgiveness. The question is not “does God stand ready to forgive, but are you ready to be forgiven?”
Today walk in His fabulous forgiveness. Ask the Lord to help you live like you are forgiven. Spread the message of a God “ready to forgive” to those who feel unforgivable. Let them hear of the forgiveness that you have found in Christ and help them to find the same forgiveness that you have found. Help them see that God is ‘ready to forgive”.
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