grace, peace, and mercy

Psalm 119:32 (NIV) I run in the path of your commands for you have set my heart free.

I have a confession to make; I am a guilt-ridden person. I even feel guilty about feeling guilty. How’s that for dysfunction?

Yesterday, we went to church and throughout the sermon my thoughts wandered, in a good way, of course. I thought about how often I’ve heard the words, grace, peace, and mercy during a church service. It made me wonder, why, after all these years, haven’t I taken those words to heart and believed with my entire being that God is for me.

Makes me think of a person who got to see the Lord in his throne room and immediately knew he was in trouble. The prophet Isaiah had an experience like no other and had every reason to cower before God’s throne;

^{Isaiah 6:1} In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple . . .    ⁵ “Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty.”

When Isaiah stood before the Lord, he knew it was the end. He was toast. But rather than fry him to a crisp, God addressed Isaiah’s sinful state with mercy.

 

Isaiah 6:⁶ Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. ⁷ With it he touched my mouth and said, “See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.”

That’s all it took for God; Isaiah was forgiven. Immediately, God gives Isaiah a job to do— take a message to God’s people. Having experienced such grace, Isaiah jumps at the chance to do God’s work. 

 ⁸ Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I. Send me!” 

Isaiah had let go of the past, his sin was atoned for and he was ready to do God’s bidding. He was ready to move on knowing that God was for him.

The Bible says that God has cast my sin into the sea. He has removed it as far away from me as the east is from the west. God is for me, not against me. So why do I hold on to my guilt and shame when it’s so clear that God has moved on? Having guilt over my sins is a little like carrying a heavy suitcase during a race. All it does is slow me down. What I need to do, is pitch it to the side and run like crazy.

Hebrews 12:¹ Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us . . . 

Guilt is what hinders me from running in the path of God’s commands. It’s not making me a better person, it’s not atoning for my sins. All it’s doing is weighing me down preventing me from running the best race ever. 

I need to remember that; God is for me, not against me. You need to remember that; God is for you, not against you. God is for us. For us! May we all approach the throne of God with joy and confidence. Ready to run like Isaiah and ready to answer his call, “Here am I. Send me!”