Do you ever feel like you’re so bad you’re beyond God’s reach?
We often fall into the trap of believing God’s mercy isn’t sufficient for our mess. However, Bible scholar Ron Rhodes says that’s just not true.
Ron shares a story of a man he knows who has fallen into this very trap.
“I’ve been helping a young man who has been struggling through a difficult period because he doesn’t feel like he can live the kind of life God wants him to live. It’s one of those situations where this man has been feeling a strong sense of shame and condemnation. There’s been some self-loathing. It’s the kind of thing where you feel like a total loser before God.”
Despite all of this, Ron says this young man wants to walk with God. In order to help him walk through this difficult time, Ron points him to a verse in the Book of Lamentations.
The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. – Lamentations 3:22-23
“To me what that means is that God’s mercy goes the second mile – if I might put it that way. It just keeps going and going. God’s mercy is never depleted. Eventually, everything we use here on earth gets depleted. However, God’s mercy and His compassion are never depleted.”
Ron says in the original Hebrew language, when the verse tells us that God’s mercies never comes to an end, it means that they are ceaseless.
“Think about that, God is ceaselessly compassionate. Every morning when you wake up there is this gigantic pile of God’s mercies and compassions just waiting for you. All you have to do is turn to the throne of grace to receive it.”
At times, we all find ourselves outside of God’s will. However, Ron says one of the wisest things we can do is study and try to understand just how awesome God’s grace, mercy, and compassion is.
“He’s always got His arms wide open, ready to receive us back into fellowship with Him no matter how bad we’ve blown it.”
Dr. Ron Rhodes received his Th.M. and Th.D. degrees in systematic theology from Dallas Theological Seminary, graduating with honors. He is currently the president of Reasoning from the Scriptures Ministries, an apologetics organization located in Texas.
Key Scripture: Lamentations 3:22-23
Featured Songs: Glorious Day – Passion; Unfinished – Mandisa; This We Know – Passion; Our God is With Us – Rita Springer; Here in The Presence – Elevation; Grateful – Elevation
Bible Answers: Part 1
