He Will Tread our Iniquities Under Foot
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Micah 7:14-20
14. Shepherd thy people with thy staff, the flock of thy inheritance, who dwell alone in a forest in the midst of a garden land; let them feed in Bashan and Gilead as in the days of old. 15. As in the days when you came out of the land of Egypt I will show them marvelous things. 16. The nations shall see and be ashamed of all their might; they shall lay their hands on their mouths; their ears shall be deaf; 17. they shall lick the dust like a serpent, like the crawling things of the earth; they shall come trembling out of their strongholds, they shall turn in dread to the Lord our God, and they shall fear because of thee. 18. Who is a God like thee, pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression for the remnant of his inheritance? He does not retain his anger for ever because he delights in steadfast love. 19. He will again have compassion upon us, he will tread our iniquities under foot. Thou wilt cast all our sins into the depths of the sea. 20. Thou wilt show faithfulness to Jacob and steadfast love to Abraham, as thou hast sworn to our fathers from the days of old.
Before I begin I should explain that I did not prepare devotions in advance for posting on Monday and Tuesday. While I am truly committed to the mission of the website, I know God intends me to fulfill the mission of caring for my family as well, and that while I am still a wife and mother, I must be true to that mission too. I hope no one was concerned. I traveled Thursday and Friday, spent Saturday in a church leadership retreat and left Sunday after church for Northern Virginia – for work and to check in on our daughter who just started her second year of college at George Mason. So that’s how that all pans out!
As for today. . . The subtitle for these verses in my bible is “Prayer and Praise.” The book of Micah alternates between prediction of gloom and desolation and calls for hope. I think that pretty much is how we live our lives today, isn’t it? We have a problem – or several – and become overwhelmed, feeling as if we are at a point in life that is insurmountable. Then God steps in and reminds us who and what He is. Or, if we watch the nightly news, it seems the world is in pretty bad shape – wars, genocide, greed, hatred, poverty, you name it! It’s easy to get depressed and discouraged about the future of mankind.
But Micah reminds us that after a time, if we are faithful, God will be there. In fact, He has been with us through every up and down—we just might not have felt His presence. I think that happens when we make it “about us.” When we forget to go to God, when we shake our heads and click our tongues and worry about how we’re going to fix everything, we’re not giving God the power to do what He does best! We’re diverting that power – we’re not being faithful.
“He will again have compassion upon us, he will tread our iniquities under foot. Thou wilt cast all our sins into the depths of the sea. 20. Thou wilt show faithfulness to Jacob and steadfast love to Abraham, as thou hast sworn to our fathers from the days of old.”
God will “tread our iniquities under foot. He will cast our sins into the depths of the sea.” That’s what gets us through whatever we are experiencing in life. That truth is how we survive the tough times. That knowledge and belief is how we can rejoice in the midst of sorrow. And beyond that, we have the gift of Jesus Christ, who did more than tread our iniquities under foot—He not only “beat up” our sins—he erased them!
And that is why we praise God! He loves us, cares for us, uplifts and supports us. And He waits for us. And when we find Him—each time we go back to Him—he treads our iniquities under foot. And even more! He gave us an unimaginable gift! And through that gift our sins are erased! Tread under foot and then obliterated! That’s love! That’s deserving of prayer and praise!
I hope you spend today in prayer and praise for a God who welcomes us back into His loving arms—every single time we run to Him—with rejoicing and celebration.
Mary
