Repentance - Turning Away From Sin

Sin is not a lovely topic to talk about. It holds us in bondage and It causes many problems in our lives and in our relationships, especially in our relationship with God. While it isn’t a pleasant topic, it is an important one. It is imperative that we recognize just how serious it is. Sin causes a barrier or an obstacle to be placed between us and God. It causes our perceptions to be clouded and we are unable to see clearly the extent of the danger that lies ahead of us. Since not a single one of us can live a sin-free life, perhaps what is even more important is what we do once we have recognized the sin in our lives. Repentance is admitting and confessing to God what you have done and then turning away from that sin. This means that you consciously make the decision that your relationship with God is far more important than choosing sin. I’ve heard it said that we were not called to be sinless, but we should sin less. Repentance allows us to see who we really are in the face of God. Sin doesn’t make him happy, but he is compassionate and merciful and he will forgive you if you ask him to. In Psalm 80, that is precisely what Asaph was doing. He recognized the apathy that was affecting his people. They simply didn’t care about what they were doing. They were struggling to withstand their enemies who were mocking them and causing them such grief. Asaph recognized that his people needed God and when he penned Psalm 80, he realized that God was their only hope. He is the only one who ultimately could save them, not only from their enemies, but from themselves. He is our hope and the only one that can save us. “Turn us again to yourself, O Lord God of Heaven’s Armies. Make your face shine down upon us. Only then will we be saved.” (19)