A new year, a new me. (#1) Reflections from Micah 7:18-20

Now that Christmas 2019 is over and this year is approaching an end, I have had an urge to prepare and become a "new" me. I googled online to discover ways to become a better me; in Japanese, making efforts to improve oneself is phrased as 「自分磨き」which can be directly translated into "self-polishing". I wanted to polish myself to be a better woman who lives a healthy life and is godlier than the 2019 version of myself. 

When I googled how to Jibun-migaki, the results showed articles and journals related to topics such as "self-care" "life style" "being independent", etc.. All of these sources taught me practical methods of being a better person, like learning to "forgive and forget", creating a better sleep cycle, being careful of your posture.... an so on. 

Now, making better life choices is a part of self-discipline, but I think it's important to remember that God is the main character, the hero, the driver, the center of this story. Looking through these articles, I realized that all the qualities that are being praised and pursued here ultimately resonate, or rather, reflect God's character and his goodness. While I was trying to understand the connection here and asking the Holy Spirit to help me gain a better understanding of my God, I opened to the book of Micah in the Bible. As I read into the scriptures, I finally got to the very end of the book of Micah (there are only 7 chapters hehe). The final three verses said, 

"Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy. You will again have compassion on us; you will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea. You will be faithful to Jacob, and show love to Abraham, as you pledged on oath to our ancestors in days long ago" (Micah 7:18-20)

Oh how great is our God. This verse so richly describes the qualities of our God. There are at least five characteristics of God we can learn from this scripture: 1. He forgives and lets go, 2. He doesn't hold on to anger but finds joy in mercy, 3. His compassion is not a one-time thing, 4. He declares absolute victory over sin, 5. He is faithful. 

Now there are hundreds and thousands of theologians who are able to explain the theological understanding of this verse. I, unfortunately, have little knowledge of the Greek and Hebrew origins of the words or the theological interpretations. I truly respect those who are able to explain and help with the understanding of the scripture, and am also eager to acquire this knowledge myself someday. For now, I'd like to share a few things God has taught me about Himself through this verse. I hope this would encourage you (and myself!) as well, to pursue God in each of the decisions and choices that we are going to make today. 

1. He forgives and lets go

Are you good at forgiving and letting go? Or are you prone to holding onto the things someone did to you, like decades ago? 

It's easy for me to remember the faults of others and holding onto how others have mistreated me, while I am terrible at giving thanks and remembering all the ways others have loved and treated me well. What an a-hole. Well, God forgives our transgressions and pardons our sins. 

WHOA. 

I just cannot wrap my mind around this truth: I have sinned against God so, so, so many times, that it surely requires more than my own life to make up for it. What kind of God is it that forgives our sins? What kind of God pardons this life so full of disobedience? Who sacrifices his own beloved son, to die in our place and be punished, so that we may be forgiven? This is truly the mystery of mercy; the mystery of our wonderful, merciful savior's love. 

Is God just a soft, fluffy, and sweet person then?

Recently, I was given the privilege of visiting my home church in Chiba. The sermon was from Psalms 18:1-24, a passage where David praises the Lord after his persecutor, King Saul perished. The passage begins with David praising the Lord for rescuing him and delivering him from the hands of his enemies. The passages following these words of joy are breathtaking, however. The verses describe God when God heard David's cry of distress and what happened next will just... completely leave us in awe. 

"The earth trembled and quaked, and the foundations of the mountains shook; they trembled because he was angry.
Smoke rose from his nostrils; consuming fire came from his mouth, burning coals blazed out of it.
He parted the heavens and came down; dark clouds were under his feet.
He mounted the cherubim and flew; he soared on the wings of the wind.
He made darkness his covering, his canopy around him— the dark rain clouds of the sky.
Out of the brightness of his presence clouds advanced, with hailstones and bolts of lightning.
The Lord thundered from heaven; the voice of the Most High resounded.[d]
He shot his arrows and scattered the enemy, with great bolts of lightning he routed them.
The valleys of the sea were exposed and the foundations of the earth laid bare at your rebuke, Lord, at the blast of breath from your nostrils.

He reached down from on high and took hold of me; he drew me out of deep waters. He rescued me from my powerful enemy, from my foes, who were too strong for me.
They confronted me in the day of my disaster, but the Lord was my support.
He brought me out into a spacious place; he rescued me because he delighted in me." (Psalm 18: 7-19)

God is P O W E R F U L (The pastor described God as being like "Godzilla" hahaha). God is waaaaaay mightier than we can ever imagine, and this God somehow desires to bless us. This God, who is all-powerful, who is beyond our understanding, chose to pour grace upon us... to forgive and forget our sins. Not only does he forgive us, but he tells us that he will bear the pain and hurt and the never-ending troubles that we suffer from the sinfulness of the world. 

It's easy for me to only focus on God's kind, loving, merciful character. But understanding a glimpse of how powerful he is, it makes me realize the greatness of His amazing grace.

God forgave us and pardoned our sins. 

How can we live like Him, today? As those who have received grace and forgiveness, how can we forgive those who have sinned against us? 

How can we forgive and let go? 

I believe that it is impossible to forgive unless we, ourselves, first understand that we have been forgiven. As we approach a new year, 2020, let's turn to the cross and confess our sins to the Lord. Let's lay down our anger, our hurt, our damaged heart before our mighty and gracious Father. Let's give up the frustrations that we carry in our hearts before our savior who has died for us so that we may enter His presence with hope and confidence. 

Forgiving isn't easy. Letting go isn't easy. But Jesus has already given us the perfect example, with a promise that the Holy Spirit will surely help us when we choose to pursue Him. Forgiveness, whether we receive forgiveness or we forgive others, returning to the cross is a daily battle and a discipline. I pray that we will be able to let Him come into our hearts and that we will be more in love with the Lord, today, tomorrow, and every day!