“Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord.” (Acts 3:19, NIV84)

When our lives jump off the tracks of God’s will for us and we begin to cruise according to our will, we soon realize that life gets tough. The bumps on the path seem to get harder and harder. I know in my life, I have grown very weary and exhausted during these times. It’s like we’re running uphill all the time. It feels like we’re losing a fight, even though we don’t feel the blows. This is the kind of stuff we go through when we jump off the tracks and live life the way we think it should be lived. The story of the prodigal son is a perfect picture of what life looks like when we leave home (God’s kingdom).

God has placed walls and pitfalls out there in the path of anyone who would desire to live outside His will. Why? Because He is jealous and desires to pain anyone who turns his back on Him? No! He graciously puts those obstacles in our lives so that, like the prodigal son, we would repent and return home. God places those things in our lives because He loves us. He wants us to live an abundantly blessed life, but that life can only be lived in His kingdom.

So, when we are finally weary of the fight, it’s time to repent. It’s time to turn our sights back home to our gracious and loving heavenly Father. It might be a little scary at first to have to turn in repentance to a holy God one more time. But push past the fear. He loves you and promises to restore and heal the brokenhearted. God will hold out His arms and embrace you and welcome you home. He will remove your sin and its consequences. He will replace your guilt with hope and peace. Now that’s refreshing!

Peace!

Pastor Tom

www.firmlyrooted.church