Have you ever been on a beautiful beach but as you get closer to the waterline you see that what's washing up isn't shells and natural wonders, it's dead fish and garbage? Or watched a deep sea diving show only to see boat ruins and trash littering the ocean floor? Or seen the cliche of the fisherman that pulls up an old boot or a tire instead of fish?
Today, those images were brought home to me through Mary Southerland's devotional when she mentioned this verse:
"Once again you will have compassion on us. You will trample our sins under your feet and throw them into the depths of the ocean" (Micah 7:19, NLT)
Are you a "fisher"? Do you go trolling in your past for the sins you've committed or the regrets that you have, constantly bringing them to the surface again? It's a problem many of us face. And it's a powerful tool that Satan can use. We know that God has forgiven all our sins when we confess them to him but we still let them bog us down, snag our joy and tangle our todays. Instead of sailing ahead into God's plan for us, we're snarled in the "swill" behind us.
Today, will you take this challenge with me? Will you meet those sins with the truth of God's word? Instead of revisiting old sins that cannot be changed except through the blood of Christ, turn them over to God and then take Him at His word. Meet Satan with the truth of God's promises. Then sail on.
"... but in love you have delivered my life from the pit of destruction, for you have cast all my sins behind your back." Isaiah 38:17b
"I, I am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins." Isaiah 43:25
"...as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us." Psalm 103:12