Scripture
“Therefore this is what the Lord says: 'If you repent, I will restore you that you may serve me; if you utter worthy, not worthless, words, you will be my spokesman. Let this people turn to you, but you must not turn to them.”(Jeremiah 15:19)
Observation
Israel screwed up time and time again, but God never ever gave up on them. Even when they uttered worthless words and lip service allegiance, God proved worthy, God remained faithful to His covenant. God remained gracious. God kept the door open for the prodigal to return home.
Application
I struggle with grace. Not only offering it, but understanding how freely it is offered to me. Without offering grace I have no one. Without receiving grace I’m not even here. The quality of grace that stumps me is how undeserving I am of it and how unwilling my God is of withholding it from me.
The Lord says, “If you repent, I will restore you.” 6 simple words that changes everything.
Repentance, not only does it activate God’s grace, it offers freedom. Freedom to move past failures, freedom to move forward. I have seen time and time again that a repentant heart is a heart on its way to peace. Yes, we all fall short and repentance can easily look like a “get out of jail card” when things go bad, but a true repentance, a repentance that owns up the failure and commits to never go back is the kind of repentance the Father desires of me. It’s not a free card, but rather a card that offers freedom. Freedom from sin, freedom from shame and freedom to turn away from past mistakes and turn to the loving arms of the Father.
I don’t want to be like Israel. I don’t want utter worthless words or turn the wrong way. I want my prayers for forgiveness, my pleas of repentance to be true and genuine in order to release the full restoration of God. It’s only through the integrity of my commitments will God offer the whole of His covenant. I don’t want to be a partial recipient, but rather receive whole thing. How?
- Seek accountability. The key for me here is to openly receive it. To not take offense or build up defense, but rather respond with gratefulness.
- Honor the one holding me accountable. I can’t get angry if I don’t like what I hear. Rather, I need to honor and respect the one pointing out the areas of my life that I am blind to and ignore.
- Don’t look back. Forward ever backward never. I don’t want to make monuments of my past failures. I need to keep my eyes firmly focused on God’s promises and my future and hope.
Prayer
Jesus, thank You for Your grace. A simple yet powerful prayer offered to the King of kings and Lord of lords. I could write a thousand words but never really explain how grateful I am to be called Your son. I love You, thank You for loving me. May my heart forever be repentant, my soul ever-longing for Your presence, and my mind in meditation on Your word.
