EZRA 9:13-14 – And after all that has come upon us for our evil deeds and for our great guilt, seeing that you, our God, have punished us less than our iniquities deserved and have given us such a remnant as this, shall we break your commandments again and intermarry with the peoples who practice these abominations? Would you not be angry with us until you consumed us, so that there should be no remnant, nor any to escape?”
THEME OF THE DAY: WE RECEIVE LESS THAN WE DESERVE. Take a few moments and think what each of us deserves from God because of our many sins, the many times of willful disobedience, the many times of choosing the world, not Him, the many times of saying, “Not Your will, but mine be done”, the many times giving into the weakness of our flesh, the many times of misrepresenting Christ by unkind words and attitudes, and the many times of neglecting to obey known commands. Not pretty, is it? We deserve eternal punishment, eternal wrath, eternal separation from God, and to suffer without end for offending such a good God and breaking His Holy Law.
But do we really believe that? I am not referring to just a light and shallow understanding of sin saying, “Yes, I am a sinner. I deserve God’s wrath.” No, I mean really believe it to where we see ourselves as never deserving one ounce of mercy and grace. How would we know if we really believe what we truly deserve from God? Here is one way. When in a tough circumstance, painful trial, or called to a season of suffering, we either outwardly or inwardly complain with words like, “I don’t deserve this. What did I do? This is unfair”, these words reveal we don’t grasp God’s holiness or our total depravity. But we don’t have to hold those sinful attitudes. Do these two things . . .
First, when tempted to complain in any painful and tough circumstance saying, “This isn’t fair. I don’t deserve this”, immediately sit at the foot of Christ’s cross and stare at the Innocent Son of God being our sins. We will never again whisper “not fair” about any circumstance or situation in our lives causing inconvenience, pain and suffering.
The other thing to do is worship God because He doesn’t give us what we deserve. And a great place to praise Him is in the Psalms. Here is one in particular – The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. He will not always chide, nor will he keep his anger forever. He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us. As a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him. For he knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust (Psalm 103:8-14).
Yes, we do receive less than we deserve from God for our sins. Aren’t we glad He did what He did to His Son for us? And aren’t we glad the Son didn’t say, “Not fair. I don’t deserve this cross”?
PRAYER: “Father, thank You for a mercy I do not deserve in You not giving what I deserve for my sins.”
QUOTE: “When tempted to complain, stop and thank God for His mercy and grace.”
In the affection of Christ Jesus,
Pastor Jim