God’s forgiveness and love are free. But if you refuse to need Him, you are telling Him you’re okay without Him. You are keeping Him at arm’s length or even further. God will run toward you, but you must be facing His way. He won’t force you to come to Him. He only beckons and woos.
Turning toward God means you are open to repentance. You come to know that your actions are far short of God’s perfection, and you need Him to change.
We rarely hear the word repentance in today’s culture. Possibly we hear we’re only human, so mistakes are inevitable. But we rarely hear that we are full of sin—sinful since we first came into this broken world. This predicament is sad because the word repentance is the key that opens a treasure chest of God’s abundant and full love!
But you are a God ready to forgive, gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. ~ Nehemiah 9:17
Yes, we need to bring back the word repentance!
John the Baptist was a voice shouting in the wilderness that prepared the way for the Lord’s coming. His message was to repent of your sins and turn to God. John’s cleansing was a symbol of water washing our sins away, but Jesus’s cleansing goes much deeper and provides the Holy Spirit to help us change.
Repentance goes beyond saying I’m sorry. Real repentance makes you realize that without God you can do no good thing. Even my good deeds can have sinful motives behind them. But with God, I can do good things out of a heart full of love. With God, I can change. I’m not stuck. The act of repentance is synonymous with hope.
Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
Point out anything in me that offends you,
and lead me along the path of everlasting life. ~ Psalm 139:23-24
God points out where my thoughts lead me astray and then sets me on a pleasant path that leads to good things in the here and now and greater things later.
Repentance is a heart thing, although actions follow. A heart of repentance is the thought that “I can’t do it on my own. I need Your help, Lord. Your ways are much higher than my ways.”
Satan asked to sift the disciples like wheat. He wanted to stir up their anxious thoughts and worries so they would turn away from following Jesus. But Jesus prayed for them. He prayed that their faith wouldn’t waiver. Jesus also knew that they would mess up so He also prayed that they would return to Him again. On cue, Peter denied Jesus three times. But then he wept over his mistakes. He repented and turned back to following Christ.
Repentance gives us second chances, many of them!
And in John 17, Jesus also prayed for you, if you are a believer today. He prayed for all those who would ever receive His message of redemption and hope.
You are prayed over and beloved so go forth and share the Gospel message with anyone who will listen.