Sep 18 – Heaven and Grace!

“He has not dealt with us according to our sins, Nor punished us according to our iniquities. For as the heavens are high above the earth, So great is His mercy toward those who fear Him.” (Psalm 103:10, 11)

No one has ever been able to measure how high the heavens are above the earth. Nor can anyone measure them. Even today, people strive to construct buildings that reach toward the heavens. Those who desire to accomplish great feats point to the sky and say, “The heavens are our limit.” Some even challenge themselves to go beyond the heavens.

In Genesis chapter 11, the people of that generation said: “Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top is in the heavens; let us make a name for ourselves.” (Genesis 11:4)

They became proud because of what they were building. Therefore, the Lord came down to see the city and the tower which the sons of men had built. They were one people and had one language. The Lord confused their language and scattered them abroad over the face of the earth. As a result, they stopped building the city.

Even today, nations compete with one another to construct buildings that reach toward the heavens. The United States once proudly displayed the Twin Towers in New York City. Enemies attacked those towers with hijacked aircraft, bringing about terrible destruction.

The Eiffel Tower in France, the Petronas Towers in Malaysia, and the Burj Khalifa in Dubai are among the world’s remarkable tall structures.

But as children of God, we have a tower higher than any tower that reaches toward the heavens. It is the tower of the grace of God. No one can measure the height of the Lord’s grace.

“For as the heavens are high above the earth, So great is His mercy toward those who fear Him.” (Psalm 103:11) David also declares: “Your mercy, O LORD, is in the heavens; Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.” (Psalm 36:5)

King David understood how exceedingly great the grace of God toward him was. When he looked at the heavens, the moon and the stars, he was overwhelmed by God’s thoughtfulness toward humanity:

“When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, The moon and the stars, which You have ordained, What is man that You are mindful of him, And the son of man that You visit him? For You have made him a little lower than the angels, And You have crowned him with glory and honour. You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet.” (Psalm 8:3–6)

What a glorious picture of the immeasurable grace of God! David looks at the vastness of creation and, instead of magnifying man, magnifies the God whose grace and mercy are beyond all human comprehension.

Dear children of God, this is the height of divine grace—grace that cannot be measured; grace that is exceedingly great, glorious and majestic.

Verse for further meditation: “He has made the earth by His power; He has established the world by His wisdom, And has stretched out the heavens at His discretion.” (Jeremiah 51:15)