The Lord Is Ready To Forgive...

For thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive; and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon thee.

Psalm 86:5

The Lord is ready to bless you, He is ready to open up doors on your behalf and give you a clean slate… The word of God tells us that “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” I have heard so many people talk about how they have prayed to God and are awaiting an answer as to how to handle this or that situation; however, we are reminded today that we are not waiting on the Lord, but that He is waiting on us… We all have missed the mark, we all have made mistakes, but the reality is that you are the one which delays the goals set before you… Even though you have gone the wrong way, David recalls to our attention the fact that the Lord is ready to forgive and that He is plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon thee… The Lord desires nothing but the best for you and when things go south in your life He is simply waiting for you to turn to Him rather than trying to find your own way out… There are so many of us who have allowed our past to dictate our future and this simply is not of God… The enemy has so many of us deceived, we feel like we are beyond saving and like a pig we find ourselves wallowing in our mess… This passage tells us that you hold the very keys to your life; you can be all that you want to be and more in Christ, but you first must acknowledge your mistakes and look to Him in order to overcome them… Think about how much you have tried to conceal from your peers; think about how many choices which you have made that you have tried to hide or keep locked away… This is not the life which God designed you to live; everyday that you conceal is another day where you have fastened your eyes behind you and therefore continue to have accidents on the road which lies ahead of you… You cannot drive a car and make it safely to your destination if you are constantly looking in your review mirror… This same principle applies to life; you have to move past yesterday, you have to overcome your failures and even though some people in your life may want to hold them over your head, you must declare that the past is the past and Christ had died for my sins and the father has forgiven me… What David is conveying to us today is that God doesn’t hold on to flaws, we do… We place limitations on our own lives based on the errors that we have made and today’s focus verse reminds us that we don’t have to be governed by the errors of old… There are some people who will say that you are what you do; however, we are what we believe when we are walking in the mercies of God… In other words, if you believe that you are better than the choice you made previously, you will in fact show that through Christ; however, if you don’t believe than you will find yourself always settling for less and going in a continuous circle…

This passage is not to be a green light to make mistakes, but to let you know that you can overcome them and don’t have to be regulated by them… The snares of the enemy can either hold you back or scar you on your road to recovery (either outcome is totally decided by you… At the end of the day, David knows through this prayer that God doesn’t allow the mistakes of yesterday to hinder the path of today; we do… Let’s not lose sight of who the author of this psalm is; David was a man who made several mistakes one of which cost him the very life of one of his sons… From sleeping with Bathsheba to having her husband put on the front line after finding out that she was pregnant; we can see the errors of David’s ways… If we examine the life of David we all can reach the same conclusion if his life would have spiraled out of control with the decisions that he made; however, we all know how his life concluded… The union of David and Bathsheba (they did marry each other) produced their very son Solomon who was the one who would build the temple of the Lord… After dealing with the consequences of his actions which we just recapped, David could’ve very easily thrown a pity party; however, after the prophecy of Nathan came to pass in his life and his son through the adulterous act committed with Bathsheba died, notice what David did… 2 Samuel 12:20 says, “Then David got up from the ground. After he had washed, put on lotions and changed his clothes, he went into the house of the LORD and worshiped. Then he went to his own house, and at his request they served him food, and he ate.” David accepted the fate, got up and went into the house of the Lord to worship… The Lord had already forgiven David; however, the choice was entirely up to him as to how his life would play out from that very moment… By choosing to enter the house of the Lord David was blessed with a second chance… When we choose to overcome our pass mistakes and enter the house of the Lord we will find forgiveness, a clean slate and a new direction… There is always a road out of the path which God never intended you to travel; however, whether this road is found or not is based on whether you are ready to leave your current place… This passage taken from the 86^th psalm reminds us that the key to life lies within our ability to come to the Lord and seek His face… Think about how often you found yourself doing what your parents told you no to do. Day after day they continued to instruct you on how to conduct yourself, but you never listened and were focused on doing your own thing! Every time you fell, every time you messed up, and every time you went against your parents you were punished, but more importantly your parents never left your side. Be reminded today of the love God has for you just like a parent. Yes, we fall short daily and must be reprimanded for our wrongs, but how many times has God forgiven you, how many times has He been their for you to comfort you, or how many times has He made a way for you to still come out on top? God loves you and wants what is best for you (to live with Him for all eternity), but don’t take His kindness for weakness! He is ready to forgive, but it will only come when you are ready to live and walk in his will!

BE BLESSED!!!