Etch A Sketch Forgiveness

Hi, and welcome to today's encouragement from Our Daily Bread. Today's reading, titled Etch A Sketch Forgiveness, was written by Katara Patton. The little red rectangular box was magical. As a kid, I could play with it for hours. When I turned one knob on the box, I would create a horizontal line on its screen, turn the other knob, and voila, a vertical line. When I turned the knobs together, I could make diagonal lines, circles, and creative designs. But the real magic came when I turned my Etch A Sketch toy upside down, shook it a little, and turned it right side up.

A blank screen appeared, offering me the opportunity to create a new design. Kat's forgiveness works much like that Etch A Sketch. He wipes away our sins, creating a clean canvas for us. Even if we remember wrongs we committed, God chooses to forgive and forget. He's wiped them out and doesn't hold our sin against us. He doesn't treat us according to our sinful actions, but extends grace through forgiveness. We have a clean slate, a new life awaiting us when we seek God's forgiveness. We can be rid of guilt and shame because of His amazing gift to us. In Psalm 103, the psalmist reminds us that our sins have been separated from us as far as the east is separated from the west.

That's as far away as you can get. In God's eyes, our sins no longer cling to us like a scarlet letter or a bad drawing. That's reason to rejoice and to thank God for His amazing grace and mercy. Today's Our Daily Bread devotional scripture reading is from Psalm 103, verses 7-13. He made known His ways to Moses, His deeds to the people of Israel. The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. He will not always accuse, nor will He harbor His anger forever. He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His love for those who fear Him.

As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us. As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him. Let's pray. Loving God, thank You for forgiveness. When we get stuck in guilt over our past wrongs, would You remind us that You no longer remember our sins and You lovingly turn our eyes back toward You. Thank You, Lord. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Thanks for listening today. I'm Toni Collyer and this encouragement was provided by Our Daily Bread Ministries.