READING: 1 Kings 13-14, 2 Chronicles 11-12
“And when he humbled himself the wrath of the Lord turned from him, so as not to make a complete destruction.”
2 Chronicles 12:12
When I first heard the term, “repentance,” it was in relation to my conversion. My pastor told me I needed to repent and believe in order to be a Christian, so I did both. To my early understanding, though, that was the last time I needed to repent, for repentance was only a step in conversion. It was not a part of one’s daily walk with God.
It was a few years later before I understood how much repentance should mark our daily lives as believers. Reading the Bible showed me that even followers of God sometimes struggled with obedience – and desperately so at times. His people under King Rehoboam followed Him, for example, but for only a short time. They obeyed when He told them not to attack Jeroboam in Israel, and “they walked for three years in the way of David and Solomon” (2 Chron. 11:17).
It was only three years, however. Perhaps because they grew comfortable with their blessings and prosperity, they “abandoned the law of the Lord” (2 Chron. 12:1). They followed the ways of the pagan nations around them, and God used Egypt to bring judgment on them. Because the people had abandoned God, He in turn abandoned them to Shishak, king of Egypt. God did, however, stay full judgment on Jerusalem when “the princes of Israel and the king humbled themselves and said, ‘The Lord is righteous’”(2 Chron. 12:6). Indeed, 2 Chron. 12:12 repeats the point that the king humbled himself before God. Humility among God’s people brought their repentance, and their seeking God in repentance brought His mercy.
ACTION STEPS:
- Be aware again that today’s faithfulness is no guarantee of tomorrow’s victory.
- Remember that, even upon repentance, the summary of our lives is often more marked by disobedience than obedience if we’ve had a time of rebellion (2 Chron. 12:14). Be humbly obedient today.
PRAYER: “Father, humble me.”
TOMORROW’S READING: Review and catch-up day
