Mon., 12/28/15 Devotion (2 Chron. 33:12-13)

Today's encouragement comes from 2 Chronicles 33:12 & 13, which says this:

"Now when [Manasseh] was in affliction, he implored the LORD his God, and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers, and prayed to Him; and He received his entreaty, heard his supplication, and brought him back to Jerusalem into his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the LORD was God."

This is the account of one of the most astounding conversions of all time. Manasseh, the king of Judah, was one of the worst idolaters the Bible ever chronicled. He never met an idol he did not love. But God, in His amazing and infinite grace and mercy, brought this man to his senses, and gave him the gift of faith and repentance.

May we all take comfort from examples such as this. As the angel said, in Lk. 1:37: "For with God nothing will be impossible."

[Puritan quote of the day: "That you may become capable of [God's] mercy, you must fall out with your sins, for there's no talk of mercy till you first are cruel to your sins.” —Robert Harris, in, "The Way To True Happiness"]