Grace for the worst of us.✨

I’ve shared that I started reading Psalms 27, 37, and 40 several months ago during a challenging dry spell. If you’re struggling, Google a psalm that fits and try declaring it aloud with zeal—and see what happens! It works.

There’s something powerful about rereading Scripture. God will often highlight a passage and reveal something spectacular in it.

Our part? To seek Him. He wants to be found. He delights when we dig deep and mine for spiritual treasure.

Such was the case with Psalm 87, which God prompted me to read in the stillness of my morning psalm study. It’s short and hopeful, but at first I couldn’t quite see the connection—what do these cities have to do with anything? It pays bigtime to dig:

WHO ARE THESE FOLKS?

(Psalm 87 :4)

• Egypt – Symbol of bondage, oppression, and human arrogance; the land where God’s people were enslaved and where false gods rivaled the true God (Exodus 1–14).

• Babylon – The archetype of idolatry, greed, pride, and moral corruption; throughout Scripture it represents the world system opposed to God (Isaiah 47; Revelation 17–18).

• Philistia – A picture of violent hostility, mockery, and sensuality; Israel’s taunting enemies who trusted in strength and pleasure rather than God (1 Samuel 17).

• Tyre – A prosperous trading empire corrupted by materialism and self-exaltation; its king became a symbol of satanic pride (Ezekiel 28).

• Cush – A distant, pagan nation—geographically and spiritually remote—representing those far off from the covenant and ignorant of God’s ways (Isaiah 18:1, Zephaniah 3:10).

Wowza! When I hunted for answers, the lights came on—and it was indeed enlightening!

Here’s the amazing thing: God is saying that these rotten cities—His enemies, the enemies of His people, brutal, greedy, self-indulgent, and oppressive—even the remote and alien Cush—will one day be counted as citizens of Zion--God's eternal city—when they acknowledge Him. when they acknowledge Him.

What they did in the past is erased by their submission to God.

Like so much of Scripture, this foreshadows the astonishing transaction we celebrate as Christians: the redemption and rebirth of God’s enemies into His family through Christ. Another "Wow!"

FAST FORWARD: GRACE FOR THE WORST OF US

“So now you Gentiles are no longer strangers and foreigners. You are citizens along with all of God’s holy people. You are members of God’s family.” Ephesians 2:19 (NLT)

Other beautiful parallels include Romans 8:15–17 (“you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children”) and Galatians 4:4–7 (“God sent his Son… so that he could adopt us as his very own children”).

The Message paraphrase captures this: “You’re no longer an outsider or a stranger. You now belong here.”

This is really Good News for all of us!

PRACTICE:

Maybe you think somebody is just too bad, too far gone, too hopeless.

Maybe you think that somebody is you.

Think again—because God specializes in redemption stories.

No one is beyond His reach.

Join God’s family or pray for THAT person to join yours.

PRAYER:

Most holy God, thank You for showing us that we’re never too bad and it’s never too late to acknowledge that You are God. Because of Your Son, we can join Your heavenly family and enjoy kingdom benefits—now and for eternity. Please forgive all the evil we have done and restore us to Yourself and to new life. In Your Son’s most beautiful name I ask it. Thank You. I love You. 💖

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Edited with AI help.