Hit Reset

God’s merciful gift of repentance should cause us to offer continually grateful lives to him. He is a God who loves to forgive us, and has made it possible to reset our wayward lives before we come under his much deserved judgment for our sin. He doesn’t have to, but he does, and the fact that he gives us opportunity to repent should create a passionate desire to live uprightly before him, and when we discover that we haven’t, to quickly come before him in heartfelt and humble repentance. Thank God for this divine reset. We should hit it as often as we need.

Going Deep // Focus: 2 Kings 22:10-13

Shaphan also told the king, “Hilkiah the priest has given me a scroll.” So Shaphan read it to the King Josiah. When the king heard what was written in the Book of the Law, he tore his clothes in despair. Then he gave these orders to Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam son of Shaphan, Acbor son of Micaiah, Shaphan the court secretary, and Asaiah the king’s personal adviser: “Go to the Temple and speak to the Lord for me and for the people and for all Judah. Inquire about the words written in this scroll that has been found. For the Lord’s great anger is burning against us because our ancestors have not obeyed the words in this scroll. We have not been doing everything it says we must do.”

Josiah became king when he was only eight-years-old, and he loved God as not too many kings of Israel and Judah had. We are not entirely sure of his upbringing, but some godly person exerted a powerful influence upon the boy. His father has been and done evil in the Lord’s sight, and his grandfather, King Manasseh, although he repented in the latter years of his long reign, had been one of the most brutal and vile kings ever. But Josiah loved the Lord with all his heart. He passionately pursued the welfare of both God and Judah, and became known as the reformer king. King Josiah was a jewel.

He was incredibly sensitive to the Lord, and responsive when he discovered that the nation, both past and present, had violated the law of God. On the occasion of the discovery of a prophetic scroll condemning the nation for its systemic pattern of sin, he humbled himself and wept before the Lord. He brought his spiritual advisors around him and sought their wisdom on how to right Judah’s listing ship. And through his heartfelt repentance, God promised to delay the much-deserved judgment that he would one day bring upon his sinful people.

Thank God for repentance. It is truly his life-saving gift to the human race. Repentance is the divine reset button for mankind. In his mercy and by his grace, God made provision for fallen human beings, both individually and collectively, to realign their wayward lives to his Word through the act of repentance—acknowledging their sin, humbling themselves before God, seeking his forgiveness, then turning for their wicked ways to follow the path of righteousness.

If God had not provided us the opportunity to acknowledge sin, seek forgiveness and make restitution where called for, the human race would be helplessly under the righteous judgment of Almighty God. The fact of the matter is, without this gift from God, I would not be writing this devotional, you would not be reading it, and none of us would even be taking in oxygen right now. We would have been destroyed as a race millennia ago. The prophet Jeremiah summed up this whole idea of grace and mercy in one of my favorite verses, where he wrote these words:

Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; Great is your faithfulness. (Lamentations 3:22)

Now from Josiah and Jeremiah, here is a critical truth we should understand about God: He is not a God who loves to visit trouble on his people. That is not his character. He is not a God of judgment first, but of love and compassion first.

Rend your hearts and not your garments. Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity. (Joel 2:13)

Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgressions of the remnant? You do not stay angry forever, but delight to show mercy. (Micah 7:18)

But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promises, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. (2 Peter 3:8-9)

Now the hard truth is, unless we take God up on his gift of repentance, his wrath will be poured out upon us. 2 Peter 3:10 goes on to say, “But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare.” Of course, Peter is speaking of the final judgment to come upon the earth. And that looming reality ought to lead us to live soberly and righteously before the Lord.

But it should also cause us to live gratefully before him as well. He is a God who loves to forgive, and has made it possible to reset our wayward lives before we come under his judgment. The fact that he gave us that gift from his gracious and merciful heart should create a passionate desire to live uprightly before him, like Josiah. And when we discover that we haven’t, to quickly come before him in heartfelt and humble repentance.

Thank God for the divine reset. Hit it as often as you need.