Who Is Like You

Transcript

Hello, my friend… so glad you're with me today. This is By God's Call — day 283, Who Is Like You.

"Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression for the remnant of his inheritance? He does not retain his anger forever, because he delights in steadfast love." Micah 7:18.

This is the final verse of a book that, up to this point, has been a hard read. Micah spent six chapters denouncing Israel's injustice — corrupt leaders, the wealthy who oppressed the poor, false prophets telling people what they wanted to hear. It is a heavy book of judgment. And then, right at the end, it bursts into a question of praise that completely changes the tone: "Who is a God like you?"

That question is not decoration. The name "Micah" itself means, in Hebrew, "who is like the LORD?" — the entire book carries that question in its title, and now, at the very end, it erupts into worship. After so much announced judgment, the prophet looks at God's character and finds no one else like Him.

And why? Because God pardons iniquity and passes over transgression. Notice the two verbs. Pardoning is not merely overlooking — it is actively dealing with sin, canceling the debt. And "passing over" pictures someone who deliberately chooses not to keep the ledger, not to keep bringing it up, not to hold it against you later.

And then comes the line I want you to hold onto today: "He does not retain his anger forever." God's anger at sin is real — He is not indifferent to evil. But that anger is not His permanent trait. It passes. What remains, what He genuinely loves to do, is show steadfast love — that hesed word again, the one that shows up in nearly every minor prophet because it is the very heart of who God is.

And look closely at this last part: he delights in showing mercy. God does not forgive grudgingly. He is not like a weary judge who caves in because he can't stand processing the case any longer. This is genuine joy. Forgiveness does not cost God reluctance — it cost Him the cross, yes, but He walks that road with delight, because that is what He actually wants to do for you.

Now, let me ask you: is there an old sin — something already confessed, already surrendered, already covered by the blood of Christ — that you still carry as though God had never truly forgiven it? Have you asked for forgiveness, but you still replay the scene, still punish yourself, still act as though the account remains open?

It doesn't. God has already passed over it. He did not keep the ledger.

So today, I want to invite you to name that specific sin — just between you and God — and declare out loud: "You have already forgiven this. You have already passed over it." Let that truth free you from a weight you no longer need to carry.

Stay close to God. Pray — then act. I'll see you tomorrow, my friend.