Morning Devotional
January 29, 2003
“The Best Of Times"

by Don Emmitte

Oh, what joy for those whose rebellion is forgiven, whose sin is put out of sight! Yes, what joy for those whose record the LORD has cleared of sin, whose lives are lived in complete honesty! When I refused to confess my sin, I was weak and miserable, and I groaned all day long. Day and night your hand of discipline was heavy on me. My strength evaporated like water in the summer heat. Finally, I confessed all my sins to you and stopped trying to hide them. I said to myself, "I will confess my rebellion to the LORD." And you forgave me! All my guilt is gone. (Psalm 32:1-5 NLV).

In his novel, A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens, opens with these famous lines:

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair..."

While Dickens was referring to life in the 19th century, we can also apply this same sentiment to our entire existence. Life is in no way stagnant. Rather, the emotions and experiences we encounter in an entire lifetime can most definitely run the gamut. The fact is, in our life, we will encounter pain as easily as pleasure and sadness as quickly as happiness. Along with wise decisions, there will be mistakes and poor choices. The same mouth that can utter soothing words of love and comfort can occasionally spew hatred and bitterness. We can rejoice in our gladness and fret in our despair, yet, through it all, the good times and the bad times, it is part of who we are and the fact we are not cold, unemotional, robots, but feeling humans who have been given the gift of intelligence and free will.

Our Creator gave us these gifts because He had no desire to make us as obedient puppets on a string and, when something goes wrong, we often fail to take responsibility for the choices we ourselves made. We shake our fists and cry out, "Why me, God?"
As we sow, so shall we reap.

In my life, I have made plenty of mistakes; yet, there comes a time when we must learn to let go of the hurts and disappointments, the opportunities lost, and all things negative that keep us looking back rather than gazing forward. If we call on God in earnest prayer, and claim to have repented of the past, then why do we refuse to let go? If God is faithful to His word, then the mistakes of our past are long forgotten as a slate is wiped clean of its chalk marks.

Just as Charles Dickens seemed to make peace with the dual nature of the 19th century in all its advances and turmoil, so, too, does our Heavenly Father see the good and evil within our lives and He is quick to forgive those who call upon Him in repentance so that we may truly make peace with the past and get on with the future.