Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord.
This passage from the book of Acts helps us better understand how God uses everything that happens in our lives for our good and His glory. Certainly, as we study Scripture the theme of God’s absolute sovereignty runs throughout the Old and New Testaments. As we take time to contemplate this wonderfully amazing spiritual truth, it should bring us immense comfort. For as one writer said, “Not a grain of sand passes on to us that has not first been filtered through God’s hand.”
When God chooses to allow suffering
Sometimes, however, in our pain and suffering, we can give way to blaming God for our heartaches. Because as logic would follow, if God is sovereign then is He powerful enough to stop our suffering. But He often doesn’t.
Can we briefly explore possible reasons why God doesn’t stop our seasons of grief and sorrow? Acts 3:19 tells us one reason God allows us to endure these painful periods of life.
God wants us to turn from our sin
First, God may choose to disrupt our lives because we are sinning. Because of His great love for us, His eternal love is so immense that He is conforming us into the image of His son Jesus. If we are willfully sinning, then we aren’t progressing in our sanctification. Thus, God will go to great length to get our attention and to steer us back on course.
As we repent and turn back to God, our sins are wiped out. Amen and amen! And the best part of this passage is the promise that follows. So that we might enjoy times of refreshing from the Lord.
Times of blessing and refreshing follow repentance
Who doesn’t long for these soul-rejuvenating times of refreshing straight from the hand of our Heavenly Father? Said no one ever.
Disruptions may be blessings in disguise
As we read through this entire section from Acts we are treated to how the New Testament apostles and their followers learned the benefit of repentance and turning to God. They were forgiven. They were refreshed. But we have to remember that God first had to disrupt their lives so that their attention was on Him.
Like these men and women of old, God continues to use disruption of all sorts and sizes to seize our attention. As He does so, His disruptions frequently transform into His blessings. Yes, God uses whatever means He needs to get us to cease and desist from our sin to that He can then shower us with His grace and mercy. What a Savior!
Questions for Personal Reflection:
- When I consider the difficulties and challenges I am facing today, I will take time to reflect upon my heart’s attitude and prayerfully contemplate if I am suffering because of any sinful choices I am making.
- As I pray about the grief and sorrow in my life, I will ask the Lord to reveal to me any heart areas where I am willfully choosing to disobey His Scripture.
- Each morning when I arise, I will ask the Lord to create in me a clean heart and to give me a sensitive spirit toward my motives and attitudes that may be hindering my relationship with Him.
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