Whether they be accidental or on purpose, we’ve all got actions that we truly regret—sins that have burdened both our hearts and minds, and have disappointed God. But our God also forgives, and forgives and forgives again—we just have to ask for that forgiveness, and truly live like we’re forgiven. Indeed, there are some beautiful things that we’re reminded of as we lay our sin at His feet.
We’re in the Old Testament today. Let’s open up to Psalms, 2 Chronicles and Micah.
Before we get into it, I do want to remind us all that God’s forgiveness is not a reason to sin. Because God has forgiven us, sin flees from us, so we should not flock to it. Whenever we say to ourselves, “I can commit this sin and just ask for forgiveness later,” that breaks God’s heart. To be honest, that’s treating Jesus, who died on a cross for us, like a pawn so that we can live a sinful life without ever having to feel bad about it.
Confessing your sin not only invites God to forgive it, but also invites us to recognize the magnitude of God’s power and His true, never ending love for us.
That love is for all of us, too, and His power is all powerful. Sometimes, we tend to view some sin as worse than others, but all sin separates us from God. Once, I had a youth leader tell me that “a sin is a sin is a sin.” She’s right. No matter what sin it is, it separates us from God. But, my friends, God is God is God.
Psalms 103:11-12 (NIV) tells us that “for as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.” There is no sin we can commit that Jesus didn’t cover with His blood. When we repent and receive forgiveness, we’re also taking the time to acknowledge that there is nothing we can do to cause God to stop loving us, and there is nothing we can do (besides blaspheme the Holy Spirit) that He won’t forgive.
Repentance also reminds us of God’s kindness and mercy. We are all sinful. We every single one fall short of the glory of God, and He would be rightful to banish us from His presence forever because of that shortcoming. But God is kind. And God is merciful. After the Israelites (who were acting rebellious) had been invaded by the Assyrians, 2 Chronicles 30:9 says “if you return to the Lord, then your fellow Israelites and your children will be shown compassion by their captors and will return to this land, for the Lord your God is gracious and compassionate. He will not turn his face from you if you return to him.” Let’s focus more on the spiritual aspect of that than the historical aspect. God was asking the Israelites to repent of their sin, and then He would deliver them from it. Instead of telling them that there was no hope for the situation, God tells them to come home so He could rescue them from the circumstances that they had gotten themselves into. He does the same for us.
Repenting also allows us to become better servants for God’s kingdom, as it invites a change into our hearts that allows us to better reflect the fact that Jesus dwells within it. Micah 7:19 (NIV) says, “You will again have compassion on us; you will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea.” God will cleanse our sinful hearts and make them into pure, beautiful reflections of the love and forgiveness that comes from the Lord. And He will do it over and over again. The process of that cleansing requires us to have more love for God than for the sin that threatens to chain us, and guess how we combat that threat? Repentance.
In a way, repentance mirrors the situation of a child who gets hurt while playing on the playground or climbing in a tree when their parents told them not to because they knew that it was dangerous and that they’d end up getting hurt. In our case, it’s us getting into situations that open the door for sin, then sinning—and instead of a scraped knee, we’ve got guilt and shame and regret. But, fear not—God is the dad that makes it better. We’ve just got to run to Him.
MEET THE AUTHOR:
Katie Pennington is a writer and editor who is originally from Hazard, Kentucky, but currently resides with her family in central Tennessee (though she frequently visits her Appalachian roots). Her favorite Bible verse is Psalm 42:5, which reminds her that in despair, there’s hope in God, and there’s healing in praising Him.