Repentance

I was recently asked to put down some thoughts on repentance for a discussion group, and I thought I might share them with you, as well...

Repentance

Isaiah 30:15
“For thus the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel, has said, ‘In repentance and rest you will be saved, In quietness and trust is your strength.’”

I feel that repentance and rest are paired here because we are not saved by our own works or by our own penance, but we must rest in God’s saving power. These are words we know too well, but do we actually live them? Our head knows that when we acknowledge our bad choices or our lack of faith, and decide to follow God rather than our own whims or fears that it is His grace and His Spirit that give us the power to follow through on our desire toward God.

Too often, we take our salvation into our own hands. If we were to honestly write the verse the way we live it, we might say: “Striving to do more good deeds than bad deeds keeps the scales tipped in my favor and saves me.” Or, “Hiding the ugly part of my humanity from the world saves me from being a social outcast.”

When the Spirit of God whispers to us regarding a thought or deed that is hindering us from fully experiencing His presence, a repentant heart is willing listen, to ask forgiveness and to make a course correction for the sake of righteousness. We can then lay that thing to rest and fully trust God’s word that He remembers it no more (Isaiah 43:25).

Romans 2:4
“Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance?”

I love that God kindly and tolerantly and patiently leads us to repentance. This is so different from the way man tries to get a person to repent. If I am hearing a voice in my head accusing me of wrong-doing, I ask myself “is this voice kind?” If I hear the voice of a man/woman speaking of sin and the need to repent, I ask myself “is this voice kind?” This is my litmus test as to whether or not God’s Spirit is convicting or man is condemning.

If God is kind to me as He woos me to repentance, I must also be kind to myself. However, I am more likely to heap guilt upon my own head, to kick myself or berate myself for my stupidity or lack of self-control. This mindset is so unproductive that it keeps me wallowing in my own muck rather than living in the righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Ghost.

My prayer is that I will keep an open heart to hear the kind, tolerant, patient voice of God…that I will quickly repent, relinquish or renounce anything that blocks open communion with Him…and that I will rest in the knowledge that He loves me, He is ready to forgive me and He is able to empower me to live a glorious life.