The Gift of Repentance

<p>&ldquo;No! I didn&rsquo;t do it!&rdquo; Jane heard her teenage son&rsquo;s denial with a sinking heart, for she knew he wasn&rsquo;t telling the truth. She breathed a prayer asking God for help before asking Simon again what happened. He continued to deny he was lying, until finally she threw her hands up in exasperation. Saying she needed a time out, she began to walk away when she felt a hand on her shoulder and heard his apology. He responded to the convicting of the Holy Spirit, and repented.</p> <p>In the Old Testament book of Joel, God called His people to true repentance for their sins as He welcomed them to return to Him wholeheartedly (2:12). God didn&rsquo;t seek outward acts of remorse, but rather that they would soften their hard attitudes: &ldquo;Rend your heart and not your garments.&rdquo; Joel reminded the Israelites that God is &ldquo;gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love&rdquo; (v. 13).</p> <p>We might find confessing our wrongdoing difficult, for in our pride we don&rsquo;t want to admit to our sins. Perhaps we&rsquo;ve fudged the truth, and we justify our actions by saying it was only &ldquo;a little white lie.&rdquo; But when we heed God&rsquo;s gentle but firm prompting to repent, He will forgive us and cleanse us from all of our sins (1 John 1:9). We can be free of guilt and shame, knowing we are forgiven.</p>