Do you ever feel buried in shame? Have you ever felt like your sins are too much to be forgiven, your mistakes too bad to be redeemed, and your brokenness a permanent fixture of your existence? Have you ever felt yourself crying from the depths of this despair, hoping that somehow, the Lord would hear this cry before you drown in the ocean of your own tears?

If God kept a record of our sins, we would surely sink in that overwhelming tempest of failures and mistakes. Yet this passage offers us the lifeline we can cling to when those waves threaten to toss aside our faith– “But you offer forgiveness, that we might learn to fear you… Hope in the Lord, for with the Lord there is unfailing love. His redemption overflows. He Himself will redeem Israel from every kind of sin.” 

When the surge of shame tries to keep you bound in those waters of doubt, cling to the fact that God’s love is unfailing, His forgiveness unending, and His redemption sure. Those waves are painful, but they teach us to long for His peace and comfort, a peace and comfort that far overwhelms any storm we face. When we are sinking in the ocean of our sin, we can reach out to a Savior Who beckons us to walk on top of it all with Him.  As Charles Spurgeon stated, “I will kiss the waves that fling my body back against the Rock.”