Forgiven!

I just want to share a little bit from my daily devotion with you. If you are a female reading this and you have not read Hinds Feet on High Places by Hannah Hurnard, you really should go to your nearest Christian Book Store and buy yourself a copy. I love my copy because it contains the entire, unabridged book, plus a daily devotional.

Today, the devotion is based on Romans 8:1 "There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus."

Praise the Lord, we are redeemed from the curse of sin. The "instructions" in the devotion go on to ask you to meditate on the love of our awesome God until you feel that you can begin to grasp the wonder of His magnificent provision.

I am struggling with this a lot this morning, because the more I meditate, the more I realize that I will never in this life, grasp the wonder of it all. That a holy, perfect God who is totally complete in and of Himself, Who needs nothing and no one, would love me, is completely incomprehensible! Just as amazing is that His Son, Jesus Christ, would leave the riches of Heaven, would give up His position at the right hand of the Father and wrap Himself in human flesh. All for the purpose of redeeming humanity. The same humanity that spit in His face, both literally and figuratively over and over and over again.

How dare I ever belittle that gift of love? How dare I not live my entire life in a position of utter humility and thankfulness? How dare I ever think that I deserve anything good?

"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change." James 1:17

But, oh, how blessed I am to have a Father in Heaven who loves me! When I try to grasp the wonder of it all I am blown away.

I have shared my story on this blog, so you all know that I have been hurt. I suspect many, if not most of you have been hurt as well. I had a wonderful childhood, parents who loved me unconditionally, but I turned my back on all of that for a time. The love of my parents and the love of my Heavenly Father were not as important to me as my own selfish desires. I am ashamed to admit that, but it is the truth. In the process I was hurt - a lot. Most of it was self-inflicted, but still it hurt. When I married my husband, who also loves me unconditionally I was still hurt. When my Father in Heaven drew me to Himself and I finally entered into a relationship with Him, I was still hurt. I was so devastated by the things I had done that it was difficult for me to accept unconditional love - from my husband or my Savior. I wanted to control my life so that I would never be hurt again and in the process I pushed away the people who truly loved me. It is the way we humans handle our pain, we bury it and we try to be sure it won't happen again.

Well, the good and the bad news is this -- we are not in control of our own lives. I believe with all of my heart that my God is the Creator of the Universe. He holds it all in His hands and the earth remains on its axis only because He wills it to be so. That means that His power does not change because you don't believe. You can say that you don't believe in the sun, but it will still shine. God is not dependant on your belief. He is still there and He is still who He says He is - whether or not you believe it. With that as the premise, I can state with total certainty that He holds the power of life and death - for all people, within His grasp.

Why do the wicked flourish? I believe it is because He is merciful and He knows that man dies but once and then the Judgement. He leaves the wicked here on this earth for a time in order that some of them may come to repentance.

As we try in vain to control our own lives, we constantly feel defeated. I know, I have been there and sometimes I still find myself there - even now that I know better. Today's devotion really has me thinking, though, and renewing my awe and wonder that my God loves me so much that He has taken my sin and thrown it into the depths of the earth. He remembers it no more, the Bible says. I am forgiven and free.

I love the lyrics from the song "In Christ Alone" - I think they perfectly sum up how I feel as I write this post. As I read over the words, I can't find just one verse to point out to you - please read the entire thing and think about the words. It is awesome the love that the Father has lavished on us!

In Christ Alone

In Christ alone my hope is found
He is my light, my strength, my song
This Cornerstone, this solid ground
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm

What heights of love, what depths of peace
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease
My Comforter, my All in All
Here in the love of Christ I stand

In Christ alone, who took on flesh
Fullness of God in helpless babe
This gift of love and righteousness
Scorned by the ones He came to save
‘Til on that cross as Jesus died
The wrath of God was satisfied
For every sin on Him was laid
Here in the death of Christ I live

There in the ground His body lay
Light of the world by darkness slain
Then bursting forth in glorious Day
Up from the grave He rose again

And as He stands in victory
Sin’s curse has lost its grip on me
For I am His and He is mine
Bought with the precious blood of Christ
No guilt in life, no fear in death
This is the power of Christ in me

From life’s first cry to final breath
Jesus commands my destiny
No power of hell, no scheme of man
Can ever pluck me from His hand
‘til He returns or calls me home
Here in the power of Christ I’ll stand