Even if you do have children who grow up, I will take them from you. It will be a terrible day when I turn away and leave you alone. [Hosea 9.12]
I want to point out a little fact that slips through in the verse above.
God is claiming responsibility for the bad things that are Israel's punishment: I will take them from you...
But notice His next statement in clarification: It will be a terrible day when I turn away and leave you alone.
What? Would it not be better for God to turn and leave Israel alone if He is punishing them? NO! Why? Because when God turns and leaves them alone, all manner of curses and troubles surround them to destroy them!
God is good and only does good. The way God takes credit for punishment is by turning away from us. All it takes is for God and His "umbrella" of protection to step away from us, and we are doomed!
Since Adam and Eve sinned, every curse written in the Bible was unleashed upon the earth. It was cursed! The only thing that brought any relief to man was to repent and get in right-standing with God so as to enjoy His "umbrella" of protection and blessing. Man's repentance was accompanied by rituals and sacrifices - it was a tedious task to stay "right with God."
It's a good thing Jesus "paid it all" right?
Not so fast... Jesus indeed paid it all, but not without us "owing all to Him." Jesus first recorded words in His earthly ministry were, "Repent for the Kingdom of God is at hand."
Why didn't Jesus just say, "Believe, for the Kingdom of God is at hand"???
Jesus said "Repent..." first because He meant FIRST REPENT. He knew better than anyone that no amount of faith in the universe could overcome un-repentance. For all that Jesus accomplished in His life, death, and His resurrection on behalf of man, it is all for naught to the unrepentant soul.
It is short-sighted and woefully insufficient to make every effort in the world to walk by faith without first repenting. Repentance is the response to conviction and conviction comes only from the Holy Spirit. Only He convicts the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment.
So when it seems faith isn't working, we need to seek conviction from God - we need ask God to reveal our hearts to us - remembering that our hearts are deceptive and desperately wicked and ONLY God truly knows our hearts. Only God, then, can reveal what needs to be repented of!
I wish I could say this was a simple quick fix - "just repent and all will be well." We must remember that our hearts are complex and deceptive, and, even as God shows us the ugly things in it, it is all the while claiming innocence and proudly denying guilt.
Our hearts must be broken, but any amount of reservation in us prevents that brokenness from occurring. Repentance takes time and effort (just like sin takes time and effort). Most of us have spent lifetimes learning ugly sinful traits that are deep-seated in our hearts. Most of us reserve areas of sinfulness. Many of us have even let our hearts tell us that God understands and therefore does not require that I "open that dark door in my heart" for Him to cleanse and change me.
But half-hearted devotion is no devotion at all. Half-hearted repentance is no repentance at all.
If I am wrong in this, I will get to heaven and hear God say, "You didn't have to do all that..."
If I am right however, and did not effectively repent, God will say, "Depart from me I never knew you!"
I would therefore rather be wrong and repentant than right and rejected by God forever.
Father, forgive me for giving myself grace and presuming my innocence. Only You can give grace and forgiveness. I invite You to inspect my heart and show me every detail that is evil in it that I might repent of it, believe in Jesus' work of redemption, and enjoy fellowship with You and every blessing from You. Please do not withdraw from me!!!
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