The wisdom of repentance

May grace and mercy be multiplied unto you, dear readers of our „Everyday word for spiritual edification”! For several days we have been talking about the wisdom of repentance, about the privileged opportunity to repent of our sins. Yesterday we mentioned several advantages of a repentant life. One who lives such a life becomes blessed, because his transgressions are forgiven and his sins are covered. We also talked about the fact that if a person repents of his sins and does not hide them it brings health to his whole body. Today I would like to look at what happens to us if we do not repent of our sins and also what advantages we will see if we choose to repent of our sins.

«For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; my vitality was turned into the drought of summer. I acknowledged my sin to You, and my iniquity I have not hidden. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,” and You forgave the iniquity of my sin” (Psalms, 32:4-5).

We do not confess our sins to the Lord it affects our blessings. In the Scripture above it says that „for day and night Your hand was heavy upon me…” Heaviness of the Lord’s hand – it is not a sign of blessing; it is a sign of curse. An unrepentant life takes away an opportunity to move forward in any area of our lives. When we refuse to repent we lose vitality and power and drought comes instead. Vitality is a sign of a blessing, prosperity, but drought is a sign of curse. According to the Bible, in order for us to flourish and prosper and to gain riches we must have vitality or power (Deuteronomy, 8:18). The lack of repentance in a person’s life deprives him of this power.In the New King James Bible it says that „my vitality was turned into the drought of summer”. You need moisture for anything to grow and flourish. When a drought comes, hunger and poverty comes along with it. So the lack of repentance leads to starvation, poverty and deprives a person of his blessings. However, when we confess our sins to the Lord, He takes away our guilt and also we don’t feel the heaviness of His hand upon us. If we do not confess our sins it is as if we go against God. If we do not repent of our sins it is not pleasing to Him. Unconfessed sins sooner or later lead a person to poverty not only in a spiritual sense, but in all other areas and all the levels. Refusing to repent a person goes against God, and because of that he won’t succeed.

«He who covers his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy» (Proverbs, 28:13).

The one who does not repent of his sins won’t prosper, – and it is a law. Every one of us should realize how crucially important it is for us not to hide our sins and transgressions before God. May God bless you! We will continue tomorrow. Pastor Rufus Ajiboye