top of page
Search
Writer's pictureJamie Klusacek

Help Me Understand Repentance

So here’s a chapter that you might not want to read, but if you envelop it, it will bring rich joy, fulfillment and a deeper intimacy with God to your life. It is essential to each and every one of our lives. It is essential in any relationship. If you don’t embrace it, I believe you will not experience God to the degree He wants you to. Your relationships will flail and flounder, lacking deep nourishing roots to stand the test of time. Courage to repent.

There’s so much in my heart for this chapter that I would like to communicate with you, my only prayer is that God gives me the words to clearly communicate and convey the heart behind the words.

I want to start off by talking about hurt, bitterness, unforgiveness and pride. I believe all of these are tied together and serve as hurdles that hinder our courage to repent. You see, in my own life, it’s easier for me to say I’m sorry, to mend a relationship, when I know clearly what I did was wrong.


Many times, I justify my actions by considering my internal good intentions for why I did what I did. Here, for me, the lines get blurry. When I then discover a friend is hurt by my actions, the pressure can be to ignore it and walk right on by—even though I was made aware of it. They just need to get over it, I’ll say. I had good intentions after all, right?

Ignoring an issue doesn’t make it better. The issue is still there, alive and well, you are simply refusing to acknowledge it. Ignoring hurt and offense, in turn, creates gaps in your relationships. The longer you ignore it, the larger the gap grows. Those who were once intimate, life-long friends, become distant strangers. And yes, it’s true, that God can heal and restore a heart and life on His own—true repentance is like balm that assists the healing at God-sized speeds. It lessens the scar left from each altercation and ultimately draws the individuals involved to the heart of God.

Of course, there are other ways we justify why we haven’t asked for forgiveness from others. Instead, maybe I should say ways I justify my actions: I wasn’t in the wrong. I didn’t do anything or say anything out of line. I simply remained silent. Sometimes our silence speaks louder than the offense and it’s the very thing that can injure a friend. I’ve said things like, “they just chose to not be on the journey with me anymore.” Or, if I forgive them and say I’m sorry, what if I hurt someone else in the process.

All of these are real, tangible excuses that we rehearse as to why we can’t say we are sorry. I put a verse at the beginning of this chapter that I would like you to read in the Message Translation. When I re-read it my eyes were open to a new facet of this of repentance and mending relationships.

“This is how I want you to conduct yourself in these matters. If you enter your place of worship and, about to make an offering, you suddenly remember a grudge a friend has against you, abandon your offering, leave immediately, go to this friend and make things right. Then and only then, come back and work things out with God.” – Matthew 5:23-24 MSG

The verse doesn’t say, “when you realize you’ve done something wrong, then go and say you're sorry.” It actually reads, “when you remember a grudge a friend has against you.” Even if you think you’ve done nothing wrong, but you remember someone has a grudge against you—you are to take the high road and seek to mend that relationship.


Do what you can to make it right, then release the outcome to God.


"An apology is a lovely perfume; it can transform the clumsiest moment into a gracious gift." - Margaret Lee Runbeck


Want to hear more about how scripture relates to this topic. Simply click this link and write "Unpublished Chapter" in the subject line for a free PDF download of Courage to Repent.


Purchase your copy of Courage to Walk today!


Photo Credit: Anna Shvets, pexels.com


24 views0 comments

Recent Posts

See All

Comments


bottom of page