Galatians 6:7

Devotional Thoughts

By David Wilkerson

Many of you are paying for a terrible mistake you made. You can go ahead and try to pull something over God's eyes, but you're going to reap what you sow. There's no question about it:

"Whatever one sows, that will he also reap” (Galatians 6:7).

Many are in the midst of depression. They are down, lonely — because they made a mistake and they are paying for it — dearly. And the misery, pain and rejection we feel, is because somewhere down along the line we failed God. We were disobedient, stubborn, and self-willed. And the cost of disobedience is very high.

But I have good news for you! There is a beautiful truth in Ezekiel, in the same passage where God is shooting arrows of famine against wrongdoers. It's not that God purposely hurts people. But you are paying the natural consequences of sin. Yet listen to this glorious word:

"Oh, house of Israel [God's people], you were defiled by your own ways, doing your own things, so unclean that I had to pour out my wrath on you. But I have pity on you, for my holy name's sake…not for your sake…not because you deserve it, but because my name is holy, and I can be merciful on whom I choose to merciful. I have such pity for you…" (Ezekiel 36:17ff).

I believe there are some people who won't repent and come back to God because they think they have sinned too grievously, and God can't forgive them. But God says to them, "I have seen all you've been doing, and I still pity you. I can sprinkle you with clean water; I can give you a new spirit and a new heart.”

We serve a God like that! The pity of God for hurting people — including those who do the wrong! You don't have to go through life paying for your mistakes. If you are doing that, you don't believe that He paid of your sins. Why did Christ go to the Cross? To pay for our mistakes — if we repent and forsake them, and are willing to come back to His gracious love.