Friday / Repentance
Read Jonah 3: 3-10 (NLT)
This time Jonah obeyed the Lord’s command and went to Nineveh, a city so large that it took three days to see it all. On the day Jonah entered the city, he shouted to the crowds: “Forty days from now Nineveh will be destroyed!” The people of Nineveh believed God’s message, and from the greatest to the least, they declared a fast and put on burlap to show their sorrow.
When the king of Nineveh heard what Jonah was saying, he stepped down from his throne and took off his royal robes. He dressed himself in burlap and sat on a heap of ashes. Then the king and his nobles sent this decree throughout the city:
“No one, not even the animals from your herds and flocks, may eat or drink anything at all. People and animals alike must wear garments of mourning, and everyone must pray earnestly to God. They must turn from their evil ways and stop all their violence. Who can tell? Perhaps even yet God will change his mind and hold back his fierce anger from destroying us.”
When God saw what they had done and how they had put a stop to their evil ways, he changed his mind and did not carry out the destruction he had threatened.
Think
I have no sense of direction. In fact, I have trouble telling left from right. In the time before GPS and Google Maps, my husband learned two things from our travels together: If I pointed LEFT as I said, “Go right,” he should probably turn left, and if I told him I “had a feeling” we should go RIGHT, then he most definitely should go left.
Finding direction in my life hasn’t been easy. I try to do things my way. I get lost, I take wrong turns, I wander in circles. I have trouble reading maps and following directions. This is true whether I’m driving a car or attempting to follow God’s path. Sometimes I’m so sure I’m going in the right direction. I follow a “feeling” but end up so lost. If only I’d stopped to ask directions or listened for God’s voice. It’s easy to get into trouble.
The people of Nineveh didn’t have that problem. When God sent Jonah to warn them to repent or be destroyed, they turned right away from their sins. They didn’t ignore God’s voice and keep on the way they’d been living. They didn’t hesitate or try to argue with God, they just put on the burlap and covered their heads with ashes and said they were sorry. God warned them to turn to a different way of life and gave them a chance to avoid the destruction he’d planned. From the king down, they took that chance. They changed direction. They started doing things God’s way.
The word repent means to turn away. When we repent of our sins, we make a choice to turn away from the behaviors, actions, or thoughts that separate us from God and each other. We say we’re sorry and we turn to a different way of living and being and doing.
Pray
Lord, when I’m not sure what to do, show me your ways. When I don’t know which way to turn, teach me your paths. In everything I do, I ask you to guide me. You are my hope and guide from the moment I wake until the moment I fall asleep. You are my Savior; you rescued me from sin. Please, Saving Lord, protect me from making sinful choices. Help me to listen to you in every choice I make. Amen.
Do
During these weeks of Lent, take a few minutes a day, or an hour a week, or whatever schedule works for you, and actually repent. Sit with yourself for a while and take a hard look at how you live. Pick a sin—and get specific here, no wishy-washy “feeling bad” stuff—actually name the sin. (If you need some reminders, try rereading Deuteronomy 5: 1-22) Once you’ve figured out what to repent of, it’s time to move on to the how. First off, be humble—no lying to God. Try to feel and trust God in your heart. Think about what you did and reflect on why it was wrong. Tell God how sorry you are, actually say it out loud. Ask for God’s forgiveness and God’s help in changing. Go on with your day, living a little lighter than before.
The View from Mt. Hope 