“And when he was in distress, he entreated the favor of the Lord his God and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers. He prayed to him, and God was moved by his entreaty and heard his plea and brought him again to Jerusalem into his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the Lord was God.” – 2 Chronicles 33:12-13
With the Lord, forgiveness, grace, and mercy are only ever a sincere prayer away! King Manasseh was a really bad guy. His father had been one of the best and most godly kings of Judah. Unfortunately, as children sometimes do, Manasseh went in completely the opposite direction. A devoted pagan, Manasseh led God’s people away from their Lord and into the arms of false gods. Manasseh built shrines to false gods, desecrated God’s Temple, and sacrificed His own children to demons.
Then God took everything away from Manasseh… In a moment, he lost his wealth, his power, his country, and his freedom. Eventually, in the depths of despair, Manasseh humbled himself before God. Guess what? God was right there to forgive him! God didn’t hesitate. God didn’t make Manasseh do great works of penance to make up for his evil. God didn’t require Manasseh to prove himself in the eyes of the world. God knew that Manasseh’s prayer was genuine and He poured out His grace and mercy.
That’s what God loves to do! Always! You don’t have to be a fallen king to received God’s mercy and grace. He has declared for thousands of years that His essential nature is to be gracious and merciful, patient, loving, and faithful. God is always ready to pour out grace and mercy on those who have avoided Him, run from Him, or opposed Him. All anyone needs to receive it is a sincere heart crying out in faith for mercy in the name of Jesus. The Lord is God and He loves to reveal Himself in love, grace, and mercy. All we need to do is let go of our pride and humble ourselves before our Creator, confessing our sins and asking forgiveness for our rebellion. God is always faithful and quick to forgive. #FollowJesus