Oakwood Church Fresh Start Women's Devotional Encouragement for Today Hartland Delafield

We’re Covered
By Sarah Kosanke

"Blessed are they whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will never count against him.”
Romans 4: 7-8

It called to me while on the shelf in my mother’s craft room. That jar of the finest glow-in-the-dark glitter I had ever known in my six years of life. It caught my eye, captured my thoughts and soon enough, was in my grip. I’d been was told by my mother not to step foot in her craft room; one could imagine the destruction a little girl could cause. As I opened it to get a better look at its sparkle, I knew I should put it back. I had loosely put the cover back on it, reaching up on my tippy toes to place it back on the shelf, when disaster struck. The once-contained glitter fell off the shelf, showering me and the floor in a sea of sparkle. I tried my best to pick it up, but I failed. I tried my best to wipe it off, again, I failed. The more I tried to cover it up, the more it spread. I was covered in it; the floor was covered in it. Each attempt was hopeless. Everywhere I went, it followed. Even when I went to turn off the light and close the door, there was still the glow-in-the-dark reminder of my mistake ground into the carpet.

Recently, God reminded me of this childhood blunder as I was recalling the fall of man. Like the fruit on the tree caught Eve’s eye, the glitter caught mine. Just as the serpent tempted Eve, so my imagination ran wild with me. More so, as the glitter covered me and everywhere I went, so does the mistake of the first sin. We see the evidence of sin all over. We as humans were not originally created to hurt, ache or even die. If things were the way God had first intended it, we would never have to say good-bye. The worst consequence of sin is that it separates us from God. Because of His character, He cannot fellowship with us. We have no way of cleaning ourselves up either. It is a hopeless attempt on our part.

We are not without hope, however. Jesus made it possible for us to fellowship with God. He fixed what we could not fix; He restored what we could not restore. Because of Jesus’ sacrifice on the Cross in our place, the blood He shed covers our sin. It’s a worthy payment before God. When God looks at us, we are blameless! We can fellowship with Him…forgiven and clean!

GOING DEEPER:
1. Thank God today for the amazing gift He gave us that we could not give ourselves.

FURTHER READING:
Psalm 32; Ephesians 2:12-14

Sarah is a single young lady who works as a rehabilitation specialist for mentally ill clients in a group home. She teaches girls in Oakwood’s Quest 56 and children’s program.