Repentance

by Susan Sampson

As I read the devotion from Lesson 7, I was struck by the simple definition of the Gospel, “Not I, but Christ.”  This is why we need to repent.  As Laurie said in the lecture, “that’s repentance — NO LONGER YOU.”  True repentance does not lead to an ongoing indulgence of self.  It does not lead to saying yes to self, the world, and giving into the devil.  True repentance leads to enduring the pain of self-death.  It leads to saying “no” to self, the world, and the devil.  One of the Scriptures the Lord has led me to in rooting out my pride and idolatry in the love of self is 1Tim. 5:6, “but she who is self-indulgent is dead even while she lives.”  In fasting, I am seeing more and more how much I give into my flesh, live by my feelings and not God’s Word.

In fasting we are enduring the pain of self-death.  We are saying no to our flesh.  We are reigning the flesh in.  We are walking in a posture of humility by grace in the Spirit of God that lives in us.  We are confessing our great need to the Lord.  Crying out for mercy and asking Him to do what only He can do — lead us to repentance.

“God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble” (James 4:6).  Lord God, please have mercy on us.  By your kindness, lead us to repentance and faith in you.  Give us a holy horror of our sin, a deep sorrow over it, and a complete heart forsaking of it.  Give us the grace we need to cry out to you from the depths of our souls to ask you to do whatever it takes to cause us to live in repentance for the rest of our lives!