I had a picture of a very rough sea which was barricaded by a wall and railings to protect a coastal walk alongside that stretch of sea. We have one such walk in Cascais, where I currently live. Sometimes, if we walk too close to the wall, the waves can be rough and tall enough to spray or even drench us. The wall/walk is referred to as the Paredão in Portuguese and interestingly, a similar word "perdão" means forgiveness. This has made me think of the times we have repented to God for our sins and He has blocked off the sin but, sometimes, we either don't believe that God has forgiven us or we repeatedly take our sin back as unforgiven and deserving of punishment. The waves of sin, guilt and shame still impact us. God wants us to be completely liberated from our sin so we can walk lighter. 1 John 1:9 tells us, amongst other bible verses, that "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness". Let us trust God that He has truly forgiven us.
