Devotionals

True Repentance

This Devotional is being reposted from my (NBNiar) page! I really enjoyed writing it, and I hope this message speaks to you. It's still very relevant to me; I'm still trying to learn how to truly repent too. If you need to talk to us about this topic, feel free to message us (or me personally) and we'll do what we can to help you! We don't know all the answers, but we love helping others as much as we can. 

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Repentance is not simply saying that you're sorry for your actions. True repentance, something most struggle with (especially for those who have struggled with habitual sins, including myself), is not only being sorry for your sins. True repentance comes from turning away from your sins, with the intention of never committing them again.

That's easier said than done, though, considering that we are all sinful by nature.

You may hold the belief that you've repented of your sins, but before you believe that, consider these signs of fake repentance (courtesy of Christian Inspiration's Facebook page):

1. No change

2. No remorse

3. Justifying your error

4. Repeating your error

5. Looking for others to side with you in your error

6. Blaming the person that you've hurt in committing your error (in other words, not taking responsibility for your actions)

If you're anything like me, you've done all six, having fully believed that you repented. The problem is, I believed in a lie that I've told myself for years: I've repented, said I'm sorry, so it's fine, right? Even if I do it a million times over?

Wrong.

Think of it this way. Your boyfriend/girlfriend/spouse does something that makes you angry beyond comprehension. You've talked with them about it time and time again. They apologize every time, yet they won't stop doing the thing that makes you angry. At what point do you realize that they're not going to change, that their apologies have been empty lies, and they'll never really stop making you angry by doing that one thing?

It's the same way with God, except that when we falsely repent, we take on the role of the boyfriend/girlfriend/spouse in the example above. We keep upsetting him, say that we're sorry, and do the same thing again. Thankfully, God is very patient with us, but that doesn't mean that we should abuse that patience. The grace of Christ covers even those who live in habitual sin, but we should not deliberately abuse that grace. After all, no one knows when they will run out of time to set things straight with God until it's too late to do so.

As we begin to learn of God and experience repentance, fruit of change will be produced within us. As we change, we begin to be repulsed by the sins we used to indulge in.

I have come to learn that repentance is an important and vital step to getting closer to Jesus and to prospering in your spiritual walk with God. Take it from me, true repentance is hard to accomplish sometimes.

For me, the most difficult thing to do is to retrain my brain to be more Christ-like, which means denying myself the sins that I've come to delight in. When I sin, my heart is drawn to the things of this world. As a Christian, though, I'm supposed to be separate from this world, which (especially as a teenager) can be hard to accomplish. Even so, I fight a spiritual battle every day between God and the things of this world, and I'm sure you do too.

Here's an example of a spiritual battle. Mind you, there are more situations than ones like this that take more of a toll on your spiritual life, but here's a generic situation.

You're running late for work, and a car pulls in front of you only to go 20 mPH UNDER the speed limit.

Christ-like option: Breathe, stay calm, pray for that person who cut you off, trust God to do what's best for you, etc.

World-like option: Beep your car's horn with as much force as possible, curse under your breath, scream, etc.

Which one are you likely to choose in a spur-of-the-moment decision? Most of the time, I'm right up the alley of the world-like option. I've screamed, gotten really frustrated, and even cursed at that person who cut me off.

It's hard to do what is Christ-like, but we knew that it would be. Jesus told us in the book of Matthew.

Matthew 16: 24-27 (NKJV) says,

24. "Then Jesus said to his disciples, 'If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.

25. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.

26. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?

27. For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father, with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works.'"

Verse twenty-four stands out to me the most. We must deny ourselves and take up our cross to follow Jesus. Denying yourself comes from trying to live a holy life, and doing so by denying yourself sin. Though we will never achieve perfection in our lives, it's important to strive to be good and holy. That's part of what makes us Christians. Taking up your cross is like putting on the armor of God, because yeah, it's hard to follow God sometimes, especially when things aren't going your way, but that's no reason to stop fighting for righteousness in the name of Christ.

If anything, hard times are more of a reason to follow God as closely as possible than good times are. I think of this quote from an old song when times are rough: "The God on the mountain is still God in the valley." The God you praised in your best moments is the same God that you should praise in your worst.

In those worse times, it's easy to slip into sin, but it's vital that you keep communication lines open between yourself and God in order to avoid it. If you do slip, though, please don't run from God. Run toward him, repent, and turn away from your sin. It can be hard to do, but God doesn't let us be tempted more than what we are able.

1 Corinthians 10:13 (NKJV) says,

13. "No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it."

With every temptation to be of this world, to lay down our cross, to indulge ourselves, there is a way out of it. We may not always run toward that way out of temptation, but it's there. You have enough power, by the grace of God, to turn from sin, no matter how much you think you need to sin.

In the case that you chase the worldly things that draw you away from God, turn to God. You may not feel worthy to even pray after committing a sin that you regret. The truth is, none of us are worthy of God, but there is nothing you could ever do to make him love you any more or less than he already does. He sent Jesus for you, that you might be saved.

Your sin does not define you, God does. Don't abuse God's grace and use it as an excuse to sin, though. Anyway, turn to God, indulge in His word and in His promises, pray, and REPENT. Draw near to God when you mess up instead of running away from him. Take that from me, a person who ran from God when she sinned for years before realizing that doing the opposite was a better option.

Proverbs 28:13

13. He that covers his sins will not prosper; But whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy.

Repent and trust God in everything! Confess and turn away from your sins instead of trying to hide them. Trust me, doing that is a game-changer when it comes to your relationship with God.

God bless you, and thanks for reading! I hope that God spoke to you through this devotional today.