READ: PSALM 103; ISAIAH 1:18

Egg-eaters are one of a chicken keeper’s worst nightmares. Nothing can ruin your day faster than when you head out to the henhouse, only to discover your hens have smashed their freshly laid eggs, leaving you with nothing but a sticky, eggy mess to clean up.

I found myself in that situation several years ago. My flock had started eating eggs, and while I was able to break most of my hens from this bad habit, my little rescue hen, Ivy, continued to smash her eggs daily.

Cleaning up Ivy’s broken eggs was frustrating, but every time I finished cleaning up her mess, I looked down at Ivy, and she looked up at me with her adorable face that always seemed to say, “You’re the best thing that has ever happened to me.”

Sometimes, Ivy’s egg messes reminded me how much God loves us. He cleans up our sinful messes and wipes away any trace of our wrongdoings. In Psalm 103, David reminds us how far God’s forgiveness reaches. “He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west” (verse 12).

Isn’t it amazing that God’s love is so perfect that He can remove all traces of our sin? Isaiah 1:18 says: “‘Come now, let’s settle this,’ says the LORD. ‘Though your sins are like scarlet, I will make them as white as snow. Though they are red like crimson, I will make them as white as wool.’”

Just as I cleaned up Ivy’s eggy mess, God wiped away our sinful messes the moment we put our trust in Jesus, believing in His death and resurrection. Let’s thank our heavenly Father, who removes our sins and remembers them no more. • Erin Snyder

• Because of Jesus’s death and resurrection, those who have put their trust in Jesus are clothed in His righteousness—in God’s eyes, it’s as if we never sinned. No longer do we sit in our eggy, sinful mess. How does it make you feel knowing God has removed your sin “as far…as the east is from the west”?

• When we confess our sin, God always forgives us, but He doesn’t always remove the natural consequences of our sin. While those consequences can be painful, Jesus walks through them with us, offering His strength and comfort. And when He returns, all will be made well. Consider taking a moment to confess any sins that come to mind, and rest in Jesus’s sure forgiveness.

He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west. Psalm 103:12 (NLT)