Verse of the Day for September 9

In the middle of verse 19 there is a word that does not belong to a single moment. he will subdue our iniquities. Subdue is what you do to something that is still fighting.

Forgiveness and subduing are not the same thing. The guilt is thrown away all at once, into the depths of the sea. But habits, reflexes and old appetites still push back. God promises to deal with those too, and that work takes time.

Micah also changes who he is addressing halfway through. He begins with he, describing God, then switches to thou, speaking to him directly. Description turns into conversation. Faith often grows like that: we talk about God for a while, and then we find ourselves talking to him.

Verse 20 roots all of it in old promises, which thou hast sworn unto our fathers from the days of old. The God who subdues your sin is the same God who kept his word to Abraham across centuries. He is patient with slow work.

So when you make the right choice at the cooker tonight, or hold your tongue in a tense meeting, that is not you earning forgiveness. It is God subduing, one choice at a time, what he has already forgiven.

God forgives instantly and changes you patiently.

Each small right choice is part of his subduing work.