God will forgive and restore you

28 May 2020
‘A bruised reed He will not break.’

Have you ever heard of the Great Boston Molasses Flood? On January 15, 1919, a steel vat containing 2.3 million gallons of molten molasses burst. A 30-foot-tall wave of hot syrup drowned people and horses, destroyed buildings, and crushed freight trains, wagons, and cars. The enormous tank, 50-feet tall and 240-feet around, had been poorly designed. Company officials had reacted to the constantly leaking cracks by repainting the tank to match the colour of the molasses; their philosophy was ‘out of sight, out of mind’. These officials knew the vat was dangerous but they did nothing about it. The disaster, described by one author as the ‘Dark Tide’, killed 21 people and injured 150 others. There are two important lessons in this story. First, pay attention to the cracks in your character; what you ignore today, you may drown in tomorrow. Second, no matter how badly broken you may be, if you turn to God, He’ll restore you. Isaiah said, ‘A bruised reed He will not break.’ These words portray the gentleness and grace of God as He stoops to restore and make us whole. Maybe you think your sin is too great and you’re too far gone. No. God said, ‘I am slow to anger and filled with unfailing love and faithfulness’ (Exodus 34:6 NLT). ‘I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely, for My anger has turned away from him’ (Hosea 14:4 NKJV). ‘He does not retain His anger forever, because He delights in mercy. He will again have compassion on us…[He] will cast all our sins into the depth of the sea’ (Micah 7:18-19 NKJV). Today God will forgive and restore you.

Sign up to get your copy delivered