“I have swept away your offenses like a cloud,
your sins like the morning mist.
Return to me,
for I have redeemed you.”
Isaiah 44:22
What a beautiful image this is. This is the word of God speaking to us through the prophet Isaiah. He tells us that he has swept away our sins like clouds or like morning mist.
It makes me imagine the sun breaking through the clouds after a big thunderstorm. The clouds are dark, low, and heavy with rain. Lightning flashes and thunder cracks and rain pours. Even in the middle of the day the sky is darkened and the sun disappears behind the wall of clouds. But the sun always returns. It cuts through the clouds and begins drying up the rain. The dark clouds fade and a blue sky starts to break through. Only minutes after the violence of a storm, the beauty of a sunny day can be seen.
He also uses the image of a thick morning fog. At its worst, fog can keep you from seeing even a few feet in front of you. It’s disorienting and often scary. But then the sun creeps up past the horizon. The heat of the day begins to burn up the fog of the night and sight is restored. The fog clears quicker than it appeared.
This is the way God handles our sin. Just like the sun clears up a rainy day or burns up a morning mist, God utterly wipes away our sin. Every trespass is wiped away and forgotten. We are redeemed. By God’s grace, our sin no longer exists. It no longer hinders us, dark and heavy and blinding. Instead there is sunlight and blue skies.
How then do we respond? By returning to God. Leave the dark clouds and the fog behind and return to God. He has redeemed you, removed your sins from you, and he loves you. Walk with him and draw near to him. The clouds won’t follow you.
Prayer:
Father,
Wipe away my sins and wash me clean. I want to return to you and leave behind every cloud and fog that has marred my past. Forgive me, Father, and help me to walk with you.
In Jesus’ Name,
Amen.
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