As Far As the East is From the West

He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor punished us according to our iniquities.
As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.
For He knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust.
Psalm 103:10, 12 & 14

Many times since I started walking with the Lord, I have thought about where He has brought me from. Truly He has not dealt with me according to my sins. It is good to reflect on the things God has done for us, on who we were before we encountered Christ and who we are now in Him. You can’t help but be grateful and praise His name because who you or I were before did not deserve the mercy that provided a way to be reconciled to God.

The second verse in this chapter says “Bless the Lord O my soul, and forget not His benefits.” This ties into the above verses because when you remember His benefits, you remember where you were the day that mercy came running to you. You remember who you were back then, however long it’s been, and realize He has not dealt with you according to your sins or punished you according to your iniquities. There is a difference between sin and iniquity though many believe them to be the same. To sin is to miss the mark, to break the law of God. Iniquity or to be iniquitous is to deviate from God’s law or live in lawlessness. Where sin is to break the law of God, iniquity is the absence of God’s law in one’s life. We lived in the absence of God’s law in our lives before we found Jesus. Wow! Forget not His benefits.

Though some of us may have been raised in the church, it does not mean that we were not living a lawless life. If you think about it, before you actually made a commitment to accept Christ as your Lord and Savior you pretty much refrained from doing certain things because your parents taught you that it was wrong in the eyes of God. I wasn’t raised in the church and I was taught the same thing. Yet the choice is ours whether or not we will accept God’s mercy and live according to His will or continue in our iniquity. Praise the Lord that many of us have made that decision already and we are FOR Christ. But if you haven’t made that decision yet, don’t wait because tomorrow can be too late!

At the moment that we let Jesus into our hearts verse 12 says that “as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions.” Do you know what that means?! It means that our sins, our violations of His law, our life of lawlessness no longer exist to Him! Our slate is totally clean! We are knew creatures, a new Christine, a new you in Christ Jesus! Bless the Lord O my soul!!!

Verse 14 says “for He knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust.” I don’t know about you but that makes me want to shout! He remembers that we are not perfect, that we are only human, and that we are prone to sin! He remembers the elements used in our creation when He created us, DUST! He remembers that because we are dust, we cannot be all that He created us to be without His help! He remembers that when He created us, He created us with free will – the right to choose – and sometimes our choices leave much to be desired. He is not our dictator so stands aside when our choices don’t include Him until we ask for help. Our frame….our body…..this flesh or shell that encases our soul and spirit, what a beautiful way to put it! God remembers that we are flesh and has mercy on His beloved creation and sends His only begotten Son as a bridge to fill the gap between Him and His creation – us! What a wonderful, merciful, loving Father we have in our God.

There is always so much to say and little time to say it but I want to leave you with this thought. Sometimes you can fall into the monotony of routine and lose sight of His many “benefits.” I know because I have found myself in that condition on more than one occasion. I have learned though that when your service to the Lord feels like a routine, a duty, a habit or anything but joy, passion, and love for our Father and the desire to please Him – think back to where you were before the day that He saved you. This is not dwelling in the past, it is remembering the wonders that God has done in your life, starting with the salvation of your soul. It is going back to the day when you first fell in love with Him and falling in love all over again! It is blessing His wonderful name despite your current situation because in your current situation He is there with you regardless of what it looks like. The world is a lonely place when you don’t have purpose, when you don’t know what you were created for but when you have Jesus, your purpose is defined and the reason you were created becomes your joy. Bless the Lord O my soul and all that is within me bless His holy name. Bless the Lord O my soul and forget not all His benefits!

If anyone reading this today does not know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior of your life and have not yet experienced the joy, love, and mercy of our Heavenly Father, I invite you today to make the decision that will determine whether your life will be one with a defined purpose or one of no purpose. Jesus loves you and died a brutal death on the cross for you and for me. All you have to do is invite Him in. Confess that you are a sinner and your need for Him to transform your life, believe that He is able and willing to forgive you and wash you clean, and receive His free gift of salvation. The bible says that when believe in our hearts and confess with our mouths that Jesus Christ is Lord, we shall be saved. Experience the joy of the Lord, receive Christ today and begin the journey God predestined for you. He loves you more than you can possibly imagine. God bless you!