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Repentance is a way of seeing ourselves the way God sees us.  It is seeing our behavior and wanting better for ourselves.  God desires for us to live a life free of sin. He desires for us to be the people He wants us all to be (1 Peter 2:9). The people He created. When we repent, we are not feeling sorry for ourselves. It is not just asking for forgiveness. It is a combination of what is in our mind, our heart, and our spirit, and then taking action to be more of what God wants us to be.

Knowing We Sin
Repentance begins with the acknowledgment that we have sinned and are sinners. The Book of 1 John 1:8-10 says – “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us”.

Sin has been around since Adam and Eve, and if we learned anything from Bible stories, we are all susceptible to making numerous mistakes throughout our lives.  It is fairly easy to get bound up in our own desires, our own actions and forget to rely on God for strength and guidance.

But getting caught up in ourselves can allow us to forget that we have sinned. One major portion of true repentance is admitting you have sinned. That requires recognition and admission of our sinful behavior. Without believing our behavior was sinful, it becomes difficult to truly repent.  After all, why would we want to change something we don’t really believe is sinful?

2 Chronicles 7:14

“If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land”.

Sometimes knowing we have sinned starts with another person recognizing it or something bad happening. Knowledge comes from allowing us to learn from others, from our Bible, and from God. Yet it is not the only important part of repentance.

A Desire to Change
Having a repenting heart means that we not only know we have sinned, but that we also want to change. The idea of change often strikes fear into the hearts of strong people. It is hard to change, and it is just as hard to want to change. The status quo is easy. It is simple. We do not have to make difficult choices. We do not have to step outside our comfort zone. Sometimes it may seem simpler to maintain a sinful behavior rather than to make a change.

Genesis 39:9-12

“There is none greater in this house than I; neither hath he kept back anything from me but thee, because thou art his wife: how then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?

And it came to pass, as she spake to Joseph day by day, that he hearkened not unto her, to lie by her, or to be with her. And it came to pass about this time, that Joseph went into the house to do his business; and there was none of the men of the house there within. And she caught him by his garment, saying, lie with me: and he left his garment in her hand, and fled, and got him out”.

So it is the desire to change that becomes very important to true repentance. We have to want the change - even though we know it is hard. We cannot make real changes in our lives without a desire to do it. It makes it easy to give up, to turn back to sin. Desire is not always enough. We often need the support of others, God’s strength and more to change, but it is the start of something better. 

Taking Action When Repenting

When we are ready to repent it does not mean just sitting passively dwelling on our sin. It means taking action. We have to turn to God and ask him for forgiveness. We must go to Him in prayer and look to our Bible to see what to do, 2 Chronicles 7:14. Repentance is action. If we do nothing but know we have sinned and just desire a change without doing something about it, what good is it?  We would just fall back into the same behaviors as before.  

Repentance means reflecting on our thoughts and actions that created the sin. It means changing behavior. This is why God’s role in our repentance is so important. He wants us to behave in a way that is pleasing to Him, but He can also provide us the guidance and strength to make some difficult choices.  True repentance can mean giving up friends or certain activities.  It can mean overcoming addictions or walking away from temptations.  It’s not easy, and we cannot take action without God.  

Yet actions of repentance are often made easier by reinforcing our faith.  Spending our time focusing on God allows us to change our behaviors in simple and small ways that eventually become something much bigger.  

Despite all the past records of Saul, the moment he submitted himself genuinely to God, all his past deeds were wiped off, he was totally forgiven and then he became a great Apostle in his generation. Dear reader, your past has no power over the present if you can do the same just like Apostle Paul. God is calling you today to repent and take action over the nature of sin. Shalom.