The Lord God is my Strength and my Song

You will say in that day: "I will give thanks to thee, O LORD, for though thou wast angry with me, thy anger turned away, and thou didst comfort me. "Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid; for the LORD GOD is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation." Isaiah 12.1-2

Words of comfort can come from God at any moment, and in any form. Today’s words from the Prophet Isaiah finish with these words of hope and gratitude that God has not held our sins against us. As we approach the end of our third week of Great Lent, it is good to remind us that our sins have not been held against us.  God has come to save us. His Cross, which we will celebrate this coming Sunday, has brought life to the world. We can trust God and know that He will save us.

I can’t help but share my thoughts about how we share our gratitude to God for not holding our sins against us. Too many in our modern world understand God’s mercy as free license to continue a life of sin, not even attempting a life of holiness. Too many in our modern world understand God’s unfailing love as license to ignore repentance. “If God is going to love me no matter what, why should I change? God made me this way, and He loves me.”

If we were genuinely thankful for God’s mercy, then we should live a life of continual repentance. While it might be impossible for us to live without sin, that should not be considered permission to stop trying. We owe our dedication to God as thanks for His Cross. “The LORD GOD is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation.”