FRIDAY: JOY IN REPENTANCE
KEY PASSAGE
“Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord”
DEVOTIONAL
When you hear the word “repent,” do you flinch a little? Have you only viewed that word through the lens of condemnation? Repentance is simply the choice we make to turn away from something and change our mind about it. When we repent, we choose to turn from something that harms our relationship with God, and we turn to Him instead for forgiveness and restoration.
Ultimately, we repent because we love Jesus. We don’t want anything getting in the way of our relationship with Him. We can go from flinching at the word repentance to taking great joy in it. It brings us back to God, it brings refreshment.
Through repentance, our heart is prepared to love Jesus more deeply. And when we love Jesus more deeply, we are more prepared to go and share that joy and love with others. We can lovingly help people see when they are heading in the wrong direction. We can help them find refreshment in Jesus as we have, not through harsh condemnation, but through gentle leading.
CHALLENGE
When is the last time you shared how Jesus has refreshed your soul? Through your testimony, God is able to reach others. Is there someone in your circle of influence that God may be nudging you to share your testimony with? You never know what God can do through your simple “Yes.” It could be the thing that leads a person to their own repentance, and finding Jesus that they, too, will be refreshed.