God Is Greater
If our hearts condemn us, we know that God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.
(1 John 3:20)
A sign on a kiosk of a local Baptist church caught my eye as it was displaying the following message – “God’s mercy is bigger than all of your mistakes.”
Normally I might have read this message and thought that’s a nice saying, and not really given it deeper consideration. But in this case, I wondered, was I supposed to see this – meaning in my heart? You know the saying, “Sometimes there’s more to this than meets the eye.”
Every day, it seems, there’s something happening that makes me react or respond in a way that I realize later is contrary to how I know I should live before Him. How do I recognize these mistakes? Well, as the verse starts us off, it’s when the heart condemns my actions. It’s especially challenging when I find myself stumbling over and over the same mistake. I sure would love to be able to simply acknowledge my shortcomings, ask for forgiveness and repent once and it just sticks and that’s it. I close each day first with thanks for all my blessings then also ask the Spirit to help me identify my mistakes.
As you contemplate this message for today, think to yourself – do I ever find myself stumbling over and over some action or behavior that I want to correct because it is offensive to God? Does this cycle leave you wondering if these mistakes impact God’s love and mercy toward you? Do you begin to feel that your mistakes, especially those of the repeated variety, put a wedge between you and God?
Thank God for His holy word! In it I’ve discovered that He never gives up on us. Many of the characters in scripture mirror our lives. They teach us that the more we open our heart, the more effectively He can use us to fulfill His will – even though we make repeatedly make mistakes. 1 John 3 opens with this truth – “How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God? And that is what we are!”
Look at David’s life as an example of one who deeply loved God. David is often characterized as having a pure heart, but he was by no means perfect. There were times when David made serious mistakes and sinned against God. So how is it that David could have a pure heart? Perhaps what forms and develops a pure heart is humility. Could it be that a humble heart leads to a pure heart? You see when David sinned, he humbled himself, he was honest in admitting his sin, and put himself at God’s mercy. He didn’t let his mistakes discourage him or make him quit and run from God.
As Christians we do live for the Lord. Even though we sometimes feel that we’re not good enough, we must remind ourselves that God is greater than our conscience. May we have confidence that God will use us, despite our mistakes, because He sees the sincere heart He is at work developing.
Father God, I can never thank You enough for Your love and endless mercy. Give me the grace each day to know the depth of Your love for me. Holy Spirit be my daily guide and reminder that You are with me to help me recognize and overcome that which prevents me from fulfilling my called life in Christ Jesus. In Jesus’ name I pray, AMEN.