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You will again have compassion on us;
you will hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea. {Micah 6:19}
I walk along a stretch of beach as the sun plays hide-and-seek behind clouds along the horizon. My toe brushes against something and I pause to pick up a piece of driftwood. I run my fingers along the slick edge of its surface worn smooth by time and sand and the pounding of waves.
I wonder who else has touched it. Maybe it was tossed into the water by a carefree child in a pink striped swimsuit. Perhaps a lover threw it in anger after a stroll on the beach turned into a tiff. It might have been swept away before a tail-wagging dog could retrieve it.
I toss it lightly into the surf only to have it come rolling back to me again. I lean back and pretend I’m a baseball pitcher. This doesn’t lead to a better result and may have inspired a few giggles from fellow tourists. At last I give up and surrender it to the sand where it stares up at me each time I revisit this stretch of loveliness.
I think of how God talks about hurling our sins into the sea and I wonder if it’s like this somehow. What if we think they’re gone but when the tide comes in there they are again? It can certainly feel this way in my mind sometimes.
But when I look at the verse where God says this I find I have left out a very important part. It doesn’t just say our sins go into the sea; it says God throws them into the depths of the sea (Micah 7:19).
The deepest part of the ocean is the Mariana Trench, which is about 36,000 feet (that’s over six miles). If we were to visit this place without taking a light with us it would be impossible to see. We’d find ourselves in inky black. In other words, when God says He has hurled our sin into the depths of the sea it means it can no longer be seen. Not ever.
Also, in the deep sea there is great pressure that holds all within it in place. Once there, an object is not going to come back to the surface. When God says our sins are gone He means it. They are not about to emerge from some hidden place to suddenly appear before us again.
And there is no plant life or growth in the deep. If we want healing and restoration we will not find it by trying to dive back down to the level of our sins. We can let them stay where God has put them and let go forever because we’re forgiven.
On the final day of my stay I pick up the piece of driftwood again. I try one more time to return it to the ocean. This time a current grabs it and I watch it drift out of sight toward its next destination.
I wonder if I’ll ever see it again. It has come to feel like a strange kind of familiar friend and I’d welcome it if I saw it again. But there are many other things I’m glad are gone forever to the depths, cast there by a God whose love is as unrelenting as the waves against the shore.
XOXO
Holley Gerth
* If you liked this post you’ll love this book – You’re Loved No Matter What: Freeing Your Heart from the Need to Be Perfect
* Looking for a study to do with a group this fall or next spring? Check out the You’re Already Amazing LifeGrowth Guide and free videos.
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I’m having Coffee For Your Heart with my friend Holley Gerth
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