You need the gift of repentance !

Tuesday April 27, 2021

You need the gift of repentance !

“I gave her time to repent…” Revelation 2. 21

When God tells you to repent, He acts gracefully towards you and gives you time to do so. But if you refuse, you will still suffer the consequences of your disobedience. “I gave her time to repent, but she doesn't want to repent. Also… she will suffer cruelly…” (Revelation 2. 21-22 TP). This verse is like an arrow sent right into the heart of this tough sin to which you are still so attached. All sin is the result of a choice. If you decide to persist in your sin, you will eventually lose the strength to turn your back on it and you will become its slave. As long as you prefer the pleasures that your sin brings to you, you do not seek to let go of them. The Greek word for repentance is metanoia, which means : to change direction, to start again in the opposite direction. One Christian author wrote the following : “I was trying to get rid of a particular sin, continually begging the Lord to deliver me from it, but to no avail. One day I got angry with God and cried out to Him, “Why don't You want to help me ?” He replied softly, “Because you are not disgusted enough with your sin ! You continue to love the pleasure it gives you !" I protested : “No, no! I hate it !" God answered me : "If you hated him enough, you would have abandoned him a long time ago !" I realized then that I appreciated the pleasures of this sin more than the reward for my obedience to God. I also discovered another truth that had eluded me until now: I will never be able, by the force of my human will, to achieve true repentance. I will never be able to extricate myself from my inner corruption. Repentance is a gift of love that only God can give us. And until that love is free to express itself by exposing these gray areas that we continue to harbor, we cannot really change." Today, draw near to God to ask Him to grant you the gift of repentance !

Source (His Word for Today)