There is forgiveness. That word must ring in your ears like heaven’s own bell, there is forgiveness for you, even now. You have lain in your bed and drowned yourself in drink, and your heart is heavy with the shame of it. Yet the wonder of divine mercy is this: where sin abounded, grace did much more abound. The Lord speaks, and you may hear it as spoken to your own soul, “I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins.” It is a deed of forgiveness, free and full. Do not measure the pardon by your own deserving, for you have none; measure it by the boundless love of God in Christ Jesus. You come with nothing to pay, and that is the very best way to come, for grace is given to the bankrupt and undeserving.
You have asked for help to think clearly, to discharge your duties, to be a better man. Seek that help where alone it can be found. Have you not read of Daniel, how he opened his window and prayed, and found courage and wisdom for all his labors? A cheerful constancy in private devotion is the wellspring of strength for every weary hour. At noontide, when the burden presses, whisper a prayer to the Good Shepherd. In the evening, confess the day’s failures and lay hold upon the fresh forgiveness that waits for you. There is forgiveness with Him, not only for the past but for the daily stumblings, a continuous stream from the wounded side of Jesus.
And remember this: the forgiveness you have received, or desire to receive, must become the pattern of your own dealing with others. You have named many whose hearts you would have softened, your wife, your masters, your fellow laborers. A Christian man is in the joint-stock business of mutual forgiveness. Look how Christ forgave you: completely, without upbraiding, at great cost to Himself. Is it not natural, then, for you to open your hands and let your resentments fall? Revenge is paltry; forgiveness is great-minded. It is the very atmosphere of the family of God. When you find hardness in others, perhaps the Lord is first softening your own heart toward them. He takes the big hammer of His omnipotence and breaks the clods of our pride, that we may be tenderhearted.
Do not say you are a tired old man and the work is overwhelming. Rest in the Lord, and you shall bear fruit. Often when God’s people rest most, they work best. The plough of the Spirit may be tearing up the fallow ground of your soul, but that is the prelude to a harvest. Go to God just as you are, with nothing in your hands, and cast yourself at His feet, quoting the name of His dear Son. The work of salvation was finished at the cross, and its benefits are applied in a moment. Cry out, “Lord, I believe in the forgiveness of sins for myself!” and that faith will be the hand that takes the gift. The Spirit can make you to be greatly beloved and maintain your steps in the way of soberness and integrity.
There is forgiveness, and there is power, and there is peace, all stored up in Jesus Christ for such a one as you. Let no past folly whisper despair, for the text draws no limit around its mercy. “There is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared.” Fear Him, love Him, and lean on Him for this day’s work and all the days to come.
