January 7 | The Joy of Repenting

Series | The God Kind of Life

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

Have you ever felt guilty about doing something that you knew was wrong?  Maybe stealing from a friend, breaking curfew when you lived at home, or talking bad about someone behind their back?  Wasn’t that feeling almost too much to take, so that when you finally got caught you were actually relieved to admit your wrongdoing and seek forgiveness?

The same is true with God and repentance.  Repentance is not a form of torture or punishment from God; it is actually His way of allowing us to relieve ourselves of a guilty conscience.  And it doesn’t stop there- biblical repentance is not just showing remorse, but also having a deep change of heart.  For when we are truly sorry for our sins against God and desire not to do it again He is able to renew our hearts and minds with an obedient spirit.

Take for example David, he was one of the greatest men in the Old Testament; however, he also had one of the greatest falls into sin.  He committed adultery, gross dishonesty, and even murder.  However, when he repented and wrote about it in Psalm 51 he teaches all of us how to view the positive side of repentance. 

He understood that unless He repented He could never be with God again and He would have the Holy Spirit taken from Him.  However, he also knew that God was more than willing to forgive and restore him.  Plus, God was able to return to him the joy of his salvation.  Therefore, we all can learn from David how to repent from sin.  Because true repentance brings joy and new life- so repent if you’ve had a bad attitude towards repenting!      

Reflection | Do you have a good attitude towards repenting for your sins?

Action | (1) Repent if you’ve had a bad attitude towards repenting.  (2) Read Psalm 51 and learn how to truly repent when you do sin. (3) Lastly, ask God to keep you from sin by changing your heart and mind so you don’t have to always live in a cycle of repentance for the same sins. 

One Year Reading Plan (Optional) | Genesis 16:1-18:15, Matthew 6:1-24, Psalm 7:1-17, &Proverbs 2:1-5.  Click here to read online.