November 7th, 2020 – Saturday Morning
“For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is His mercy toward those who fear Him…” ~Psalm 103:11
I know, I know…I’ve been parked in Psalm 103 for weeks (or months) now. Yet, it is amazing HOW MUCH this chapter holds! The thought that is on my mind at the moment is the rich mercy and grace of God.
Think about the verse I quoted above and think about the vastness of the heavens. The heavens referred to here are the skies; how expansive are the skies? I just saw last night that NASA executed its first commands to Voyager 2 in seven months; those commands took nearly 17.5 hours to reach the spacecraft because it is over 11,500,000 (11.5 million) miles away. Yet, that spacecraft is only in the interstellar part of space…just beyond the reach of our solar system; it is still well within our galaxy. Our galaxy is roughly 580,000,000,000,000,000 (580 quadrillion) miles across; and the Milky Way is a relatively small galaxy. The distance to the next closest large galaxy is roughly (if my math is right) 1,450,000,000,000,000,000,000 (or 1.45 sextillion) miles away. Do you know how many galaxies there are? No one actually does, but the estimated number is believed to be 2,000,000,000,000 (2 trillion). The reality is that we have no ability in our finite human minds to comprehend the vastness of the skies; it is too far above us.
So, how great is God’s mercy toward those who have a proper fear of Him? Can you measure the heavens? Guess what? Just like we have absolutely no ability to understand the vastness of the skies, so we have no ability whatsoever to understand the vastness of God’s mercy. Not that we can’t begin to understand it: I counted at least 21 direct references or examples of the LORD’s mercy in Psalm 103. From His forgiveness to His redemption to His patience to His favor to His sustaining power, over and over and over again God pours out His mercy on those who honor, respect, and trust Him.
You know I like questions. 🙂 In view of God’s mercy, His grace, His goodness, His kindness, and His faithfulness, are we living in such a way so as to fear Him and take advantage of those things? Is our every breath one that is filled with His praise because of His mercy? Is our every word bathed in His goodness? Is each action compelled and propelled by His love and grace?
This isn’t rocket science (ok, so the pun is intended); seriously, though, if God’s mercy and grace is unending to those who are abiding in Christ Jesus, we have no excuse if we somehow come up short of it in the midst of our circumstances. Don’t brush His goodness aside; it is our very breath! Pray. Talk to Him and communicate your need for His grace in this moment; and in this one; and in this one; and in every single moment of your life. Then, walk in obedient trust and prove His mercy and grace to be immeasurable and sufficient for all of life. His mercy is indeed as vast as the heavens! Thank you, Lord!