Lessons from David | From the East to the West

Then Nathan said to David, "The Lord has removed your sin…”

2 Samuel 12:13 (CEB)

God doesn't deal with us according to our sin or repay us according to our wrongdoing, because as high as heaven is above the earth, that's how large God's faithful love is for those who honor him. As far as east is from west—that's how far God has removed our sin from us.

Psalm 103:10-12  (CEB)

After David confessed his sin – after he said, "I have sinned against the Lord" – Nathan delivered God's verdict. And it wasn't what David expected because it wasn't what David deserved.

Nathan said, "The Lord has removed your sin." Not "The Lord will think about forgiving you." Not "The Lord will forgive you if you work really hard to make up for it." Not "The Lord will hold this against you for the rest of your life." Just "The Lord has removed your sin." Past tense. Done. Finished. Removed. Showing us that God's grace is greater than our sin.

The psalmist tries to help us understand just how completely God forgives us. He writes, "As far as east is from west – that's how far God has removed our sin from us."

Think about that for a second. If you start traveling east, you can travel forever and never reach west. East and west never meet. They're infinitely separated. That's how far God removes our sin from us. Not just a little distance. Not just out of sight. But infinitely far. Completely removed. Totally separated from who we are.

But, for some reason, we keep dragging our sin back. God removes it, and we go running after it. God puts it as far as east is from west, and we bring it back into our present. God declares us forgiven, and we declare ourselves guilty.

So why is it so hard for us to accept God's forgiveness? Why do we keep apologizing for sins God has already forgiven? Why do we keep punishing ourselves for things God has already removed?

I think it's because grace feels too good to be true. We know what we've done. We know what we deserve. And forgiveness doesn't make sense to us. We want to earn it. We want to prove we're sorry. We want to make up for what we've done. Because if we earn it, then we understand it. But if it's just given freely...that's harder to accept.

But that's exactly what grace is. It's not earned. It's not deserved. It's not based on how sorry we are or how hard we try to make up for what we've done. It's based entirely on God's character. And God's character is faithful love. Love that's as high as heaven is above the earth. Love that removes our sin as far as east is from west. Love that looks at us in our worst moment and says, "I forgive you."

So here's what I want you to do today: I want you to accept God's verdict. Not the verdict you've been giving yourself. Not the condemnation you imagine God feels. But the actual verdict God has given.

If you've confessed your sin, God has removed it. That's not wishful thinking. That's not minimizing what you've done. That's the promise of Scripture. That's who God is. So stop dragging your sin back. Stop punishing yourself for what God has forgiven. Stop living in guilt when God has declared you clean.

Your sin is as far as east is from west. And it's time you let it stay there.

Prayer

God, I'm amazed by your grace. Honestly, it's hard for me to accept. I know what I've done. I know what I deserve. And forgiveness feels too good to be true. But you've declared it anyway. You've removed my sin as far as east is from west. You've chosen to extend grace rather than give me what I deserve. Help me to accept this. Help me to stop dragging my sin back, stop punishing myself, stop living in guilt. Help me to rest in your faithful love and trust that when you say I'm forgiven, I really am forgiven. Amen.