Repent

November 27, 2018

People who conceal their sins will not prosper, but if they confess and turn from them, they will receive mercy. Proverbs 28:13 NLT

Solomon’s proverb gives us a great definition of repentance: Confess and turn. When I talk repentance, a simple “sorry” doesn’t do it. For to be repentant, you must do the following:

Recognize your sin. Identify the stronghold.

Call it what it is. Don’t make an excuse, blame anyone else, or minimize it. Take full responsibility and call it what it is: sin.

Confess it. Own it to God with deep sorrow.

Turn from it. Reject the sin; turn from it with all the energy and effort you would use to break away from something that was drowning you.

You can never live free without repentance. Without repentance you will simply live in a cycle of excuses. Romans 13:14 tells us to make no room for sin to enter our lives, no consideration of fulfilling our evil desires. Only when we see our sin as an ugly and traitorous action against God and His plan for our lives will we have the power to stop. Minimizing will never move us in the right direction.

Repentance must become a lifestyle. As soon as you realize you have stepped off the path, you go the distance and truly repent. You confess and turn.

• Honestly self-assess: Am I owning my sin/stronghold for what it is?
• What am I minimizing or excusing?
• How and when am I giving myself excuses or room to repeat my sin?
• Pray: God, I want to live free and pure. Help me recognize my sins for what they are. Help me see them in all their ugliness and destructiveness. I want to feel deep sorrow for the way they have impacted me and others, especially You. I want to turn from sin and reject it from my heart. Help me be wise to see the people and situations I use as excuses to return to my sin. I want victory and freedom. Amen.