Drops in the Ocean

Drops In The Ocean

I want you as you are, not as you ought to be
Won’t you lay down your guard and come to Me
The shame that grips you now is crippling
It breaks My heart to see you suffering

‘Cause I am for you
I’m not against you

If you want to know
How far My love can go
Just how deep, just how wide
If you want to see
How much you mean to Me
Look at My hands, look at My side
If you could count the times I’d say you are forgiven
It’s more than the drops in the ocean

Don’t think you need to settle for a substitute
When I’m the only Love that changes you

Open your heart
It’s time that we start again
Open your heart
It’s time that we start again

Hawk Nelson
writer(s): Jon Steingard; Jason Ingram; Matt Bronlee

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798,251,012,325,216,135,654,464,101,128,..
3.425 x 10^25

Are you able to read either of those numbers? I’m not. I have no concept of how many that is. So, what do those numbers represent? They are the two most common answers to my Google search…”How many drops are in the ocean?” And those are just best guesses based on scientific formulas. Here is how the Bible answers that question:

The God of glory thunders— the Lord, above vast waters….
Psalm 29:3b HCSB

He assigned the sea its boundaries and locked the oceans in vast reservoirs.
Psalm 33:7 NLT

Here is the ocean, vast and wide….
Psalm 104:25a NLT

Others went to sea in ships, conducting trade on the vast waters.
Psalm 107:23 HCSB

Vast, undefined, unfathomable—the drops in the ocean are beyond measure. That is how much Jesus loves us. Better yet, that is how many times He forgives us! The Scriptures say:

..for you have rescued me from death and forgiven all my sins.
Isaiah 38:17b NLT

…for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.
Jeremiah 31:34b NASB

Truly and solemnly I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the sons of men…
Mark 3:28a AMP

ALL our sins are forgiven. Not some…not several…not just certain ones…but ALL! They are remembered no more. The HCSB version of Isaiah 38:17 says “You have thrown all my sins behind Your back.” Out of sight and out of mind.

Think about it this way…

Even if that person wrongs you seven times a day
and each time turns again and asks forgiveness,
you must forgive.
Luke 17:4 NLT

Let’s pretend that is the standard Jesus uses toward us…. So 7 times a day for 365 days equals 2,555 times we are forgiven in 1 year. I am 55; so now let’s multiply 2555 times 55. That would equal 140,525 times I have been forgiven so far in my lifetime. (And I know that estimate is WAY TOO LOW!) I cannot imagine forgiving any one that many times. Yet I am loved and forgiven so much more than that.

Ephesians 5:2 AMP tells us “Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us, a slain offering and sacrifice to God [for you, so that it became] a sweet fragrance.” Romans 8:31 NLT reminds us “God is for us, who can ever be against us?” 1 Thessalonians 5:9 declares “For God chose to save us through our Lord Jesus Christ, not to pour out His anger on us.”

God is for us, not against us! He is:

– with us (Isaiah 8:10)
– bearing our burdens and carrying us each day (Psalm 68:19)
– with us; He is our leader (2 Chronicles 13:12)
– will fight for us (Nehemiah 4:20)

That’s how far His love can go for us.
That is how much we mean to Him.
That’s how deep, how wide His love is for us.
More than the drops in the ocean

I want you as you are, not as you ought to be
Won’t you lay down your guard and come to Me
The shame that grips you now is crippling
It breaks My heart to see you suffering

‘Cause I am for you
I’m not against you

If you want to know
How far my love can go
Just how deep, just how wide
If want to see
How much you mean to Me
Look at My hands, look at My side
If you could count the times I say you are forgiven
It’s more than the drops in the ocean

Don’t think you need to settle for a substitute
When I’m the only love that changes you

And I am for you
I’m not against you
And I am for you
I’m not against you

I am for you,
I’m not against you

Hawk Nelson
Writers: Jon Steingard; Jason Ingram; Matt Bronleewe

* ~ ♥ ~ ✞ ~ ♥ ~ *

Do you hear God speaking to you through this song? God says, “I want you as you are … come to Me … it breaks My heart to see you suffering.”

Then Jesus said,
“Come to Me,
all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens,
and I will give you rest.”
Matthew 11:28

‘Cause I am for you
I’m not against you

Be strong and courageous.
Do not be afraid or terrified because of them,
for the LORD your God goes with you;
He will never leave you nor forsake you.
Deuteronomy 31:6

For the LORD will not reject His people;
He will never forsake His inheritance.
Psalm 94:14

If you want to know
How far my love can go
Just how deep, just how wide

Then Christ will make His home in your hearts as you trust in Him.
Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong.
And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should,
how wide, how long, how high, and how deep His love is.
May you experience the love of Christ,
though it is too great to understand fully.
Then you will be made complete
with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.
Ephesians 3:17-19

The Lord says, “I will rescue those who love Me.
I will protect those who trust in My name.
When they call on Me, I will answer;
I will be with them in trouble.
I will rescue and honor them.
I will reward them with a long life
and give them My salvation.”
Psalms 91:14-17

If you want to see
How much you mean to me
Look at my hands, look at my side
If you could count the times I say you are forgiven
It’s more than the drops in the ocean

But the Lord our God is merciful and forgiving,
even though we have rebelled against Him.
Daniel 9:9

He has removed our sins as far from us
as the east is from the west.
Psalm 103:12

Once again You will have compassion on us.
You will trample our sins under Your feet
and throw them into the depths of the ocean!
Micah 7:19

Don’t think you need to settle for a substitute
When I’m the only love that changes you

He is so rich in kindness and grace
that He purchased our freedom with the blood of His Son
and forgave our sins.
Ephesians 1:7

Open your heart,
It’s time that we start again

But if we confess our sins to Him,
He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins
and to cleanse us from all wickedness.
1 John 1:9

They found grace out in the desert,
…out looking for a place to rest,
[they] met God out looking for them!
God told them, “I’ve never quit loving you and never will.
Expect love, love, and more love!
And so now I’ll start over with you and build you up again…
Jeremiah 31:2-4 MSG

Do you see, my sisters, how much God loves you?! In all these Scriptures and so many more, God tells us “I LOVE YOU!” There is no substitute for God’s love expressed in Jesus’ willingness to come and die for us. What love! He is always for us. He’s never against us. He always wants to forgive us. When shame grips us, when we are suffering, Jesus says, “Open your heart, it’s time we start again.”

YOU ARE FORGIVEN! YOU ARE LOVED!

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Lord, thank You for expressing over and over again “how wide, how long, how high, and how deep” Your love is for each of us. You are so rich in kindness and grace, that You forgive us more times than there are “drops in the ocean.” Help us to always accept Your love and forgiveness. Help us share this good news with others. In Jesus’ precious Name, Amen.