Proactive and Passionate About It

He will turn again, He will have compassion upon us; He will subdue our iniquities, and Thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea. Micah 7:19

God's proactive response to our sin is so amazing. The story of the prodigal son when he returns home is a picture of us each time we return to God. The father pictures the heart of God so well. He has been waiting for the son, runs to meet him, enfolds him with arms of compassion, and lavishes goodness on him. I see that scene magnified in the first part of Micah 7:19. We have a heavenly Father who always turns again and has compassion on us. It is in His heart to respond and demonstrate such love.

Too often, on a human scale, I fail to give or receive such a response to offenses, hurts, and injustices. May His Spirit transform me into a person with a heart for forgiveness like His.
But the second part of the verse displays God's proaction toward our actual sin. The KJV says he "subdues" our iniquities (wickedness). I often think of subdue to mean bring under control or to over take something. But it also means to tread down, to conquer. God's love for me is directly opposite of His hatred for sin. He stomps all over it and then casts it into the sea. The depths of the sea....the deepest part. Like a ball hit out of the field, sin is "out of here"....GONE!!!!

He separates my sin from me. While I receive His loving embrace, my sin gets the boot. For years I thought God could only see me through the grid of my sin, failure, and depravity. This verse is one way He is fixing my picture of Him.

Father, You are so much more loving than I ever hoped You could be! May I never get over Your compassion, mercy, and love! Amen.