Discouraged over the past

There is no reason to be discouraged over the past. In God’s eyes, you are forgiven!

If thou, LORD, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand? — Psalm 130:3

Not long ago, my wife was reminiscing about some of the “good old days” as we often like to call them. She is often reminded of something from days gone by and will recount the story with vivid detail. On this day, there was no shortage of details as she laughed recounting a story from the past.

I wasn’t laughing at the story, but I was certainly laughing at her. She was so excited talking about something from many years ago. She stopped her story after a few minutes and said to me, “don’t you remember?” But I have to be honest, many times, I struggle to remember things from yesterday.

Not long after, I read these words of Psalm 130. If you study the root of the word “mark” in this verse, it is the idea of watching, guarding, or keeping watch. In my words, if God were to scrutinize me for all the wrongs we have done, who would be able to stand in the end?

No one! Not one of us are worthy enough to stand when we consider the wrongs we have done. As the Bible shares, sin is sin and we are all guilty of sin. But thank the Lord there is a forgiving Savior!

No doubt we can all think back on all the things we have done. We are all sinners. We have all fallen short and made mistakes. Yet, we have a God who loves us, forgives us, and remembers those things no more. There’s no reason to be discouraged over the past. In God’s eyes, it’s gone!