Her Faith Thrives

The word repentance can invoke feelings of rebellion, frustration, despair, or conviction. What feelings does this word bring up in you?

The definition of repentance according to the dictionary is “deep sorrow or contrition for a past sin.”  It is no wonder that no one wants to dwell on repentance for any length of time! However, the Biblical definition turns repentance from a sorrowful state of being, to a process which results in hope. In the Bible, repentance is the process of turning from what you know to be wrong toward what God defines as right. The process of repentance forces you to see yourself for who you really are and challenges you to change.

Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death. 2 Corinthians 7:10 NIV

Even with hope on the horizon, I know how deeply destabilizing and downright heart wrenching repentance can feel. I know the dread of discovering the right path you missed and how, the path can loom large and overwhelming.  It can be very demoralizing to know that you were so deeply wrong or neglectful. It is tempting to run from your mistakes, when every step you take to remedy a situation makes the mistake feel bigger.

Repenting can hurt deeply. 

A voice is calling, “Clear the way for the Lord in the wilderness;
Make smooth in the desert a highway for our God. “Let every valley be lifted up,
And every mountain and hill be made low; And let the rough ground become a plain,
And the rugged terrain a broad valley; Then the glory of the Lord will be revealed,
And all flesh will see it together; For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.” Isaiah 40:3-5 NASB

These words prophesied by Isaiah were eventually fulfilled by John the Baptist as he called the people of Israel to repentance (Matthew 3:2). Repentance addresses wildernesses, deserts, valleys, mountains, rough ground, and rugged terrain – all of which are hard places we would rather neglect than address.  In these hard places, where difficulty is caused by our sin, we are asked to repent and clear a way for the Lord. The result is that God transforms the place of difficulty that could drain life, to a place that yields life and redemption.  John the Baptist’s call to repentance, led the people of Israel to prepare their hearts to accept what Jesus was going to do by living a sinless life on earth, dying on a cross and rising from the dead.  Christ’s work on earth overwhelmingly defeated the sin that entangled them and strained their relationship with God.  This is the hope that we cling to over two thousand years later, when confronted by our own entangling, life draining sin nature. The beauty of repentance is that Christ goes into those difficult, sin-filled spaces with us. Our God goes in and redeems the hopeless wasteland our choices have earned us and gives us life.

Nothing demonstrated to me the difficulty and power of the walk of repentance like the first few months of handling finances with my husband right after we got married. Previously very frugal, I underestimated how challenging dealing with our finances would be. I thought that if we could come up with a budget, we would be fine. I was right about the budget but completely unprepared for what preparing a budget and sticking to it week after week would entail.  More than simple calculations and allocations of money, planning our finances turned out to be a powerful revealer of our hearts.  For me, our finances revealed deep seated anxiety, a critical spirit, and a desire to control my husband. It was heartbreaking!  When my flaws were evident, I had three choices: ignore them and focus on finding my husband’s shortcomings,  give in to deep discouragement, or  bring the ugly truth about myself to God and let Him empower me to change.  

Walking in repentance from the character qualities that our finances revealed, involved participating in budget meetings whole heartedly.  These meetings were hard because whenever we had even the slightest disagreement about what was happening with our money, all my ugly character qualities would show up. We would not only have to finish what we started with the budget, but also do the spiritual and relational work of reconciliation following the sparks that would fly when I started acting in fear-driven, critical, and controlling ways. It was hard but God was gracious and started to change my heart.

 Budget meetings have drastically improved, but they are still a place where God calls us to repentance. Now, we credit our financial journey with being one of the most powerful tools in helping us work as a team. This hard work has not only helped my husband and I grow; it has also deepened our love for each other and our trust in God. 

Perhaps God is calling you on a journey of repentance and you are overwhelmed by how hard it will be or how long it will take. If so, dare to say yes to how the Lord is leading you! Choosing to walk repentance will not be easy, but I can assure you it is worth it.  Do not choose ease over true healing and restoration.  God is ready to redeem and heal you. 

“I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten– the great locust and the young locust, the other locusts and the locust swarm — my great army that I sent among you. Joel 2:25 NIV

Reflection Questions:

1.      Growth: Where is God calling you to do the work of repentance?  Is there something He asked you to do that you have neglected and need to return to?

2.      Connection: Is there anyone you need to ask for forgiveness?  Prayerfully initiate that conversation.

3.      Gratitude: Psalm 51 contains David’s prayer of repentance. Use the verses to help you confess your sin to the Lord.  List all the qualities of God mentioned in this Psalm and thank Him for them.

For Further Encouragement

Were you encouraged by this blog post? I would love to connect with you on our special Her Faith Thrives Newsletter which goes out every other month. In each newsletter, I share a short reflection about how I’m growing in my faith during this season of life. Plus, I’ll be sending you some fantastic resources to inspire and guide you on your own faith journey. When you subscribe, you will receive my all-time favorite tool for making your Daily Quiet Time truly meaningful. It’s called “From Routine to Reverence: 3 Simple Steps to a Deeper Daily Quiet Time.” I can’t wait to hear how it helps you deepen your time in God’s Word.