Repentance - an Act of Turning

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Everything about this season points to a SHIFT. Things are not “normal” and what once was will never be again.

I am doing something brand new, something unheard of.
Even now it sprouts and grows and matures.
Don’t you perceive it?
I will make a way in the wilderness
and open up flowing streams in the desert. Isaiah 43:19 TPT™

What new things is the Lord doing? What is He changing? What is He shifting?

What is He doing in you, through you, around you?

God speaks to me in words. Often times, it is a single word He lays on my heart. It brings me pause and causes me to press in…

This past week, I kept hearing the word REPENT. What does repent mean?

“Repent” by definition signifies a PIVOT, a turn from one way of doing things to another. TriTheos does an excellent job of laying out varying summaries from prominent and reputable resources. In summary, it is:

To change one’s mind for the better, heartily to amend with abhorrence of one’s past sins” (Thayer)
“Metanoeo, meaning to change one’s mind and purpose, as the result of after knowledge. This verb, with the cognate noun metanoia, is used of true repentance, a change of mind and purpose and life, to which remission of sin is promised.” (Easton’s Bible Dictionary).
Change my mind, change the inner man (particularly with reference to acceptance of the will of God (Strong’s Concordance)
TriTheos summarized with: Change mind/reconsider; turn from sin; and regret/remorse.
“Literally, it is a Greek word meaning “change of mind”. Yet the full meaning is somewhat more. In the New Testament, the word metanoia is often translated as “repentance”. But this kind of repentance is not about regret or guilt or shame; it implies making a decision to turn around, to face a new direction.” (Metanoia)

I would also dare to say SURRENDER is the same kind of word. It’s a turn from ME to HIM.

It could be simple
It could be deep
It could be incredibly difficult and result in pain (i.e. loss of control, loss of certain relationships, loss of a “comforting habit)”

Let’s put the two words together. REPENT (to change my way of living for another) and in turn SURRENDER (giving over of my own will to align with His) – my time, my relationships, my children, my voice (silent to bold)…

Let’s consider and mediate on what the Word has to say about repentance:

For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him. Matthew 21:32 NIV

There was a shift in how the tax collectors and prostitutes lived, after being shown the way of righteousness.

This is what the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel, says:

“In repentance and rest is your salvation,
in quietness and trust is your strength… Isaiah 30:15 NIV

Our salvation comes when we surrender and turn our lives around towards Him. It leads to a quiet assurance.

And now you must repent and turn back[a] to God so that your sins will be removed, and so that times of refreshing will stream from the Lord’s presence. Acts 3:19 TPT™

“Acts 3:19 Peter uses the Greek word epistrepho (“turn back to God,” “be converted”). We need to not only repent but to return home to God’s grace and truth. This is a Hebraic thought of returning to the Lord God (the Hebrew word shuv). Every Jew would know what that means: “Come back to God!” Repentance and return is more than a passive changing of one’s mind.”
– The Passion Translation Bible

I have declared to both Jews and Greeks that they must turn to God in repentance and have faith in our Lord Jesus. Acts 20:21 NIV

…yet I am glad now, not because you were hurt and made sorry, but because your sorrow led to repentance [and you turned back to God]; for you felt a grief such as God meant you to feel, so that you might not suffer loss in anything on our account. 10 For [godly] sorrow that is in accord with the will of God produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation; but worldly sorrow [the hopeless sorrow of those who do not believe] produces death. 11 For [you can look back and] see what an earnestness and authentic concern this godly sorrow has produced in you: what vindication of yourselves [against charges that you tolerate sin], what indignation [at sin], what fear [of offending God], what longing [for righteousness and justice], what passion [to do what is right], what readiness to punish [those who sin and those who tolerate sin]!… 2 Corinthians 7:9-11 AMP

So remember and take to heart the lessons you have received and heard. Keep and obey them, and repent [change your sinful way of thinking, and demonstrate your repentance with new behavior that proves a conscious decision to turn away from sin]. So then, if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come to you. Revelation 3:3 AMP

Our faith was never meant to be a passive, one-time act. It is a PIVOT, a turn from one way of living to a new way. Faith is a COMPLETE trust and confidence in THE ONE WHO IS ABLE.

Whoever is a believer in Christ is a new creation. The old way of living has disappeared. A new way of living has come into existence. 2 Corinthians 5:17 GW

Now faith brings our hopes into reality and becomes the foundation needed to acquire the things we long for. It is all the evidence required to prove what is still unseen. 2 This testimony of faith is what previous generations[a] were commended for. 3 Faith empowers us to see that the universe was created and beautifully coordinated[b] by the power of God’s words! He spoke and the invisible realm gave birth to all that is seen. Hebrews 11:1-3 TPT™

I think our lives are all in the need of a SHIFT- to look beyond “normal” and consider there is a better way.

I think our culture is also in need of a shift.

I think our church is in the midst of a shift. I love this prayer by Dutch Sheets:

God, we call for the full Ekklesia to rise up. Just like in Horton Hears a Who, we need every member on the wall interceding, declaring and decreeing into the atmosphere of this nation. We say, “The power of the Church is in the fullness of the Body of Christ!” We call for those in the Lutheran Church, the Methodist Church, and the Baptist Church. We call forth the true Believers in the Catholic Church and the Episcopal Church. We call the Ekklesia out of every church, every denomination. We are all needed in this hour. The harvest is ripe and we call for the laborers. We need intercessors and evangelists, teachers and pastors. We need to get on the wall together and get it finished.
–Dutch Sheets, Give Him 15, 4/15/2020

We WILL look different on the other side of this. It’s not a matter of “if” but “how”.

If you haven’t prayed yet or figure it out yet, find even 10 minutes today to sit before the Lord. If you have extra time, listen to some worship (PRAISE Him) – get your heart and mind back in that place of realignment (link to my blog), shift – so your focus is not on your circumstances but on HIM.

“Lord, what are you asking of me? What are you teaching me? Where do you want my time and my focus? How does my life/my priorities…need to PIVOT?”

I am about to start a powerful Bible study with hundreds of women across the country (send me a message if you would like to know more/join us). We are doing Priscilla Shirer’s Armor of God. This is how she explains using repentance in your prayers:

Expect prayer to expose where you’re still resisting Him – not only resisting His commands, but resisting the manifold blessing and benefits He gives to those who follow. Line your strategies with repentance: the courage to trust, and turn, and walk His way.
-Priscilla Shirer, Armor of God

The way to REPENT and PIVOT is to turn your eyes to Him. He alone is worthy of our attention and praise. He alone carries to keys to to the Kingdom and our Best Lives now.