Greatest Catalyst
“Return, Israel, to the Lord your God.Your sins have been your downfall! Take words with you and return to the Lord. Say to him: “Forgive all our sins and receive us graciously, that we may offer the fruit of our lips.” Hosea 14:2.
How do we deal with demandingness?
We must repent of it.
Our passage today tells us how.
First:
Return!
“Return to the LORD.”
The key to ridding ourselves of anything that is spiritually injurious is to return to God.
The pursuit of God involves a shift away from dependence on one’s own resources to dependence on God.
Doing good and correcting wrong behavior does not automatically make us good people.
Obedience is extremely important, but it must be accompanied by deep, heart repentance.
Second:
Repent!
The passage says: “Take words of repentance with you.”
This phrase means that we must put into words a clear description of what we are repenting of.
If we are not clear about what is going on inside us, how can we repent of it?
Next:
Receive!
“Forgive all our sin.”
Repentance puts us in touch with God’s forgiveness.
We can work to bring about change also-
– but the greatest catalyst for change is humbly positioning ourselves before God and asking for His forgiveness.
Then:
Rejoice!
“Accept what is good, so that we may repay You with praise from our lips.”
The thought here is:
“Receive us that we may worship You more effectively.”
The purpose of all restoration is to worship God.
We will be drawn into true worship when we give up insisting on our own way and learn to trust God for our own happiness.
When repentance moves us from a spirit of demandingness to absolute trust in God-
– then we are in the place where God is able to make our feet like “hinds’ feet,”
– and equip us with the ability to ascend into the heights with Him.
“Tender and skillful Invader of my heart, I yield my stricken being to You for healing. Drain every drop of demandingness from my being. For I want not only to be better but to be whole. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.”
(PA)