While people often bring trouble upon themselves through their mistakes, they tend to view these consequences as punishments from God. Punishment can harden a person, but forgiveness and mercy offer an opportunity for repentance. Both experiences involve sorrow, but godly sorrow transforms a person, making them a new creation.
Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death. – 2 Corinthians 7:10 (NIV)
Sadly, we often succumb to worldly sorrow, which either leads us to justify our sins or to accept that we deserve punishment. This mindset ultimately leads to eternal separation from God, as we reap the wages of our sins.
Corrupted Hearts; Polished Lips
In spite of all this, they kept on sinning; in spite of his wonders, they did not believe. So he ended their days in futility and their years in terror. Whenever God slew them, they would seek him; they eagerly turned to him again. They remembered that God was their Rock, that God Most High was their Redeemer.
But then they would flatter him with their mouths, lying to him with their tongues; their hearts were not loyal to him, they were not faithful to his covenant. Yet he was merciful; he forgave their iniquities and did not destroy them. Time after time he restrained his anger and did not stir up his full wrath.
He remembered that they were but flesh, a passing breeze that does not return. – Psalms 78:32-39 (NIV)
Isaiah vividly captured God’s unwavering grace (Isaiah 54:10), yet people struggled to trust His word. Paul later emphasized this truth in relatable terms:
The law was brought in so that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace increased all the more – Romans 5:20 (NIV)
Despite this, people either ignored His grace or sought to exploit it by continuing in sin. Paul rebuked this mindset with biting sarcasm:
What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? – Romans 6:1 (NIV)
Yet many persisted in using grace as an excuse for their perpetual sin. The Israelites endured suffering because of their sin but remained unwilling to repent. They misunderstood God’s nature, seeing Him only as a punishing God rather than a loving and forgiving one. They resigned themselves to their punishment, believing there was no escape. Despite their unfaithfulness, God consistently extended His mercy. Though they flattered Him with their words and built their lives on lies, their hearts remained distant.
Still, God remembered their frailty, recognizing them as “mere flesh, a passing breeze” (Psalm 78:39), and dealt with them gently. His gentleness, much like the care we show to a fragile chick emerging from its shell, was often misinterpreted as weakness. Rather than inspiring repentance, His restraint emboldened them to persist in sin. Yet His patience reflects not weakness but an enduring hope that we might turn back to Him.
Redemption Is Forgotten
How often they rebelled against him in the wilderness and grieved him in the wasteland! Again and again they put God to the test; they vexed the Holy One of Israel. They did not remember his power— the day he redeemed them from the oppressor, the day he displayed his signs in Egypt, his wonders in the region of Zoan. – Psalms 78:40-43 (NIV)
The Psalmist marvelled at how the Israelites, who had witnessed God’s mighty power firsthand, could rebel against Him. They forgot the miraculous ways in which God delivered them from their oppressors. In Psalm 78:44–53, the Psalmist meticulously recounts God’s extraordinary deeds. This was the very generation that saw these miracles unfold before their eyes. If they could test and doubt God, what hope is there for the generations that only hear of His mighty works?
Imagine a child of a high-ranking police officer who, instead of admiring his father’s authority and dedication to justice, exploits his father’s name to avoid consequences for his misdeeds. Over time, this behaviour emboldens him, leading to increasingly severe offences until, without remorse, he takes a life. Rather than respecting his father’s position by living honourably, he abuses it as a shield for his own sinful actions.
Is this not similar to how we often act in our relationship with God? We proclaim, “If God is for us, who can stand against us?” Yet we misuse His authority as a license to cling to the very sins we were redeemed from, ready to return to them at a moment’s temptation. Like the Israelites who yearned for the comforts of Egypt—forgetting the suffering and plagues they endured there—we are drawn to fleeting pleasures while disregarding the cost of disobedience. In doing so, we risk becoming numb to the light of the Gospel, failing to bear the fruits of a transformed life.
It is not enough to merely reflect on God’s works, perhaps during Good Friday year after year. We must embrace our identity as His children and live in a way that honours the new life we’ve received. Our tendency to sin clouds our understanding of salvation and distances us from the Spirit’s transformative power. True freedom lies in recognizing the privilege of being God’s children and committing to a life that reflects His grace and glory.
God’s cleansing power through the blood of Jesus is available to us, but it requires our willingness to be transformed. God honours the free will He has given us—will we use it to align ourselves with His will and become a new creation, leaving behind the old life?
Heavenly Father, help us cherish the privilege of being Your children above the fleeting pleasures of this fallen world.
Transform us into new creations, fully submitted to Your will. Amen.
The Jordan Valley 
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