He will tread our iniquities underfoot.
You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea!  

The LORD is like a father to his children, tender and compassionate to those who fear him.—Gracious is the LORD, and righteous; our God is merciful.

Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.—For thus said the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel,

“In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength.”

But you were unwilling.

Therefore the LORD waits to be gracious to you, and therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you. For the LORD is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for him…

He will surely be gracious to you at the sound of your cry. As soon as he hears it, he answers you.  And though the Lord give you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, yet your Teacher will not hide himself anymore, but your eyes shall see your Teacher. And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it,” when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left.

 Gracious is the LORD, and righteous; yea, our God is merciful.

Micah 7:19ESV; Ps.103:13NLT; Ps.116:5ESV; Prov.28:13ESV; Is. 30:15,18-21ESV; Ps.116:5KJV

God does not pounce on our sins for the sake of shaming us.  He does not pronounce us sinners with delight.  Instead, like a Father, he sees the sins that wreak havoc in our hearts and even affect us physically and He longs to be gracious to us, to wipe the record of them away, to show us better ways to think and to live that will not be so hurtful, so damning.  

He waits on us to admit where we’ve fallen, to recognize the sin that mars us and to confess it to Him, to hold it up for Him to take away and trample underfoot and toss into the deepest sea where it shall never be seen again! He is only too glad to forgive and yes, to forget.  He invites us to do the same.  All that stands between us and freedom is our own blindness and stubbornness to let go of the sinful habits we’ve come to see as a way of life, rather than the paths to stress, strife and strain that they truly are. 

Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day long….

–LS