Effective Faith Is Tied Directly To Effective Repentance

Listen! The LORD’s arm is not too weak to save you, nor is his ear too deaf to hear you call. It’s your sins that have cut you off from God. Because of your sins, he has turned away and will not listen anymore. [Isaiah 59.1-2]

In a day and age when it seems the power of God manifests very little (as witnessed in Bible times), Isaiah's prophecy here timelessly speaks to us today.

I would not be wrong to say there are endless volumes written to explain that the lack of miracles today is simply because [insert here whatever any particular author's "faith" solution might be]. Some say "faith" overcomes adverse situations and others say "faith" endures the situations. Few, and I mean very few, attribute the powerless in our lives to sin. But that is exactly what Isaiah says in Isaiah 59.1-2.

I lean toward the "mountain-moving faith" camp. However, I don't think the lack of miracles in my life is simply a lack of faith or that I have not found the right combination of processes to act by faith. What the Bible says about sin (here in Isaiah 59 and all through the Bible) perfectly explains why God's power is not more manifest in and through my life: sin. Just believing this however does not fix it. Repentance is the only solution for sin. Would I be wrong to repeat that repentance is the ONLY solution for sin?

The reason I lean toward the "mountain-moving faith" camp is because it allows me a clear picture whether my life is in line with God or not. If I were to adhere to the belief that "bad things happen to good people," how would I ever know for sure whether the bad things in my life were the result of sin or simply the sovereignty of God at work? Frankly, I do not understand how anyone can read and understand the life conditions described in Deuteronomy 28 based upon obedience or disobedience and then say the same curses on disobedience are just bad things that happen to good people because God works like that! It just doesn't make any Biblically accurate sense.

So, I hold to the idea that bad things are ALWAYS God's invitation for us to REPENT. Whether we realize or understand it is unimportant - what matters is that when the curses upon disobedience described in detail in Deuteronomy 28 occur, we should repent.

I find myself repenting more all the time. May my will be brought under control by pride-eradicating repentance! May my life manifest the power of God's mighty arm! 

Effective faith is tied directly to effective repentance. But who among us really wants to repent?

Father, help me to not grow weary in repentance, but grow powerful in Your forgiveness!