Nashville, Tennessee, United States - The Upper Room Daily Devotional "That's Been Done!" for Wednesday, 3 September 2014 - Read Psalm 103:6-18

Nashville, Tennessee, United States - The Upper Room Daily Devotional "That's Been Done!" for Wednesday, 3 September 2014 - Read Psalm 103:6-18 God makes everything come out right;
    he puts victims back on their feet.
He showed Moses how he went about his work,
    opened up his plans to all Israel.
God is sheer mercy and grace;
    not easily angered, he’s rich in love.
He doesn’t endlessly nag and scold,
    nor hold grudges forever.
He doesn’t treat us as our sins deserve,
    nor pay us back in full for our wrongs.
As high as heaven is over the earth,
    so strong is his love to those who fear him.
And as far as sunrise is from sunset,
    he has separated us from our sins.
As parents feel for their children,
    God feels for those who fear him.
He knows us inside and out,
    keeps in mind that we’re made of mud.
Men and women don’t live very long;
    like wildflowers they spring up and blossom,
But a storm snuffs them out just as quickly,
    leaving nothing to show they were here.
God’s love, though, is ever and always,
    eternally present to all who fear him,
Making everything right for them and their children
    as they follow his Covenant ways
    and remember to do whatever he said.
[Jesus] himself bore our sins in his body on the cross, so that, free from sins, we might live for righteousness.(1 Peter 2:24 (NRSV))
Years after the fact, realization of my failure as a mother slammed me like a charging elephant. My children’s father had abused them, and I — their mother — had failed to adequately protect them. Because of my negligence, my sons suffered immeasurable mental, spiritual, and physical pain — pain that I could not heal.
Disconsolate, I lived in unrelenting sorrow and self-loathing. I had left my children vulnerable. How could I have done that? I felt I did not deserve to live. But in one of my darkest moments, the Holy Spirit spoke to my heart: “Jesus has already died for that; you should live.”And I knew it to be true. Long before I realized the extent of my sinfulness, Jesus died for all my sins, even this one. I could never make atonement, but Jesus already had.
Thankful for God’s abundant grace, I began the journey toward healing. Through counseling I learned more about abuse and the way it distorts reality. I combatted condemning thoughts by quoting scripture to remind myself that I am forgiven and deeply loved by God. I live — forgiven, accepted, and loved.
The Author: Grace Linwood-Michaels (Virginia)
Thought for the Day: God wants us to live.
Prayer: Father of mercy, thank you for being more willing to forgive us than we are to forgive ourselves. In the name of Jesus, who heals our wounds. Amen.
Prayer focus: Victims of abuse
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