Power of Repentance
I believe in repentance. If I’m repentant, then my heart is humble and I’m taking ownership of my behavior and my screw-ups. Repentance is a perquisite to restoration. Repentance cleans up the mess that confession has made. I need repentance on a daily basis. I own my mistakes and profoundly apologize for them.
Jonah gets a second chance to follow the Lord’s leading. Check this out…
Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time: 2 ‘Go to the great city of Nineveh and proclaim to it the message I give you.’
3 Jonah obeyed the word of the Lord and went to Nineveh. Now Nineveh was a very large city; it took three days to go through it. 4 Jonah began by going a day’s journey into the city, proclaiming, ‘Forty more days and Nineveh will be overthrown.’ 5 The Ninevites believed God. A fast was proclaimed, and all of them, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth.
6 When Jonah’s warning reached the king of Nineveh, he rose from his throne, took off his royal robes, covered himself with sackcloth and sat down in the dust. 7 This is the proclamation he issued in Nineveh:
‘By the decree of the king and his nobles:
Do not let people or animals, herds or flocks, taste anything; do not let them eat or drink. 8 But let people and animals be covered with sackcloth. Let everyone call urgently on God. Let them give up their evil ways and their violence. 9 Who knows? God may yet relent and with compassion turn from his fierce anger so that we will not perish.’
10 When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he relented and did not bring on them the destruction he had threatened. (Jonah 3:1-10 NIV)
Repentance is the proper response to the truth.
Repentance is the proper response to a warning from God.
Repentance is the expression of humility from sinful mistakes.
Repentance is turning from the wrong direction and heading toward the Lord.
The people of Nineveh really responded to Jonah’s preaching. In three days he turned the entire city toward the Lord. This is really the proper response to Jonah’s message. The Lord had compassion because of their repentance. This journey of Jonah speaks volumes about the compassion of God. I’m a grateful recipient of The Lord’s Compassion.
Pressing On!
Dwayne