series artseries art

How Do I Repent?

Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time: “Go to the great city of Nineveh and proclaim to it the message I give you.” Jonah obeyed the word of the Lord and went to Nineveh. Now Nineveh was a very large city; it took three days to go through it. Jonah began by going a day’s journey into the city, proclaiming, “Forty more days and Nineveh will be overthrown.”  The Ninevites believed God. A fast was proclaimed, and all of them, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth. When Jonah’s warning reached the king of Nineveh, he rose from his throne, took off his royal robes, covered himself with sackcloth and sat down in the dust.  This is the proclamation he issued in Nineveh: “By the decree of the king and his nobles: Do not let people or animals, herds or flocks, taste anything; do not let them eat or drink. But let people and animals be covered with sackcloth. Let everyone call urgently on God. Let them give up their evil ways and their violence.  Who knows? God may yet relent and with compassion turn from his fierce anger so that we will not perish.” When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he relented and did not bring on them the destruction he had threatened. JONAH 3:1-10 NIV

God’s patience leads to my repentance

Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time: “Go to the great city of Nineveh and proclaim to it the message I give you.” Jonah obeyed the word of the Lord and went to Nineveh.

JONAH 3:1-3 NIV

Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, forbearance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance? ROMANS 2:4 NIV

How many of our lives are marked by violence toward our neighbor in this current political season?

Repentance goes deeper than my feelings

Jonah obeyed the word of the Lord and went to Nineveh. Now Nineveh was a very large city; it took three days to go through it.  Jonah began by going a day’s journey into the city, JONAH 3:3-4 NIV

Repentance goes deeper than my words

When Jonah’s warning reached the king of Nineveh, he rose from his throne, took off his royal robes, covered himself with sackcloth and sat down in the dust.  This is the proclamation he issued in Nineveh: “By the decree of the king and his nobles: Do not let people or animals, herds or flocks, taste anything; do not let them eat or drink. JONAH 3:6-7 NIV

Prove by the way you live that you have repented of your sins and turned to God. Don’t just say to each other, ‘We’re safe, for we are descendants of Abraham.’ That means nothing, for I tell you, God can create children of Abraham from these very stones. Even now the ax of God’s judgment is poised, ready to sever the roots of the trees. Yes, every tree that does not produce good fruit will be chopped down and thrown into the fire.” LUKE 3:8-9 NLT

There is no place too dark that God won’t reach, and no person too hopeless that God can’t save

When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he relented and did not bring on them the destruction he had threatened. JONAH 3:10 NLT

Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice. Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity. Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me…You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise. PSALM 51:7-17 NIV

What sin is God patiently inviting you to repent of today?

My Notes

Personal Reflection Guide

Find a quiet space that will allow you to listen to whatever God may want to say to you. Pay attention to your thoughts and feelings and wait until they are reasonably calm. Ask God to help you to become still. Take several slow, deep breaths. Go for a walk if you sense this will help. When you are ready, commit the time to the Lord for His purposes. What thoughts and feelings surface as you think about repentance? In what ways does your life reflect obedience to God and love toward others? Ask God to help you discern any unloving thoughts, feelings, or behaviors that He wants you to repent of. Picture what it would look like for you to turn away from this sin and live a life ruled by God in this area. Talk to God about anything you may be holding onto or unwilling to do. What would be some faithful actions you can take that He can use to help you to change? Close your time by reflecting on God and what He reveals of Himself in the story of Jonah. Praise Him for His patience and anything else that impresses you. Ask Him to create in you a clean heart that is quick to repent and steadfastly follows Him (Psalm 51:10). Pray He will help you take one of the actions this week that He brought to your mind in your conversation with Him about the change He wants to make in you.

Discussion Questions

Choose a couple of the following questions from each section that best fit your group. Or, have everyone read the questions, choosing which one(s) from each section that they feel led to respond to.

  1. START HERE: What was your religious background growing up?
  2. START HERE: What comes to mind when you hear the word repent?
  3. START HERE: What would it look like for someone’s life to be fully ruled by God?
  4. KEEP GOING: Where in your life have you seen God’s patience with you?
  5. KEEP GOING: Read Jonah 3:3 (NLT). Are there things right now in your life that you say you believe but are not living out in obedience? Choose one. What is it that is preventing you from being obedient in that area?
  6. KEEP GOING: Read Jonah 3:4-9 (NLT). Looking back on your life, what has led you to repentance, and what can you learn from those times?
  7. KEEP GOING: Read Jonah 3:10 (NLT). God longed to rescue Nineveh, and He longs to rescue us. How does it make you feel to know that God can and wants to deliver you when you repent?
  8. LIVE IT OUT: Having received God’s grace, how do we live in light of His grace?
  9. LIVE IT OUT: In living out your repentance, what is something you need to stop? What is something you need to start?
  10. LIVE IT OUT: Read James 5:19-20 (NLT). How might you encourage a fellow believer to turn toward God?