Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord . . . Acts 3:19
I vividly remember just being sick and tired of my addiction. At first, I took the pills because they made me feel good and helped me sleep. As I developed a tolerance, experienced withdrawal, and became dependent on them however, they assumed control of my life. This isn’t fun anymore, I thought, but it was too late. And so, began years of misery, wanting to quit, but never being able to break free. I lived in constant turmoil, knowing what I was doing was wrong, hating myself, and continually worrying about everyone finding out.
In this condition, I lived in unending weariness. Drug use was exhausting, but I couldn’t just walk away because I was hopelessly addicted. I wanted to be free, but I knew that finding sobriety was going to be absolutely miserable. Withdrawal, confession, honesty, and treatment were just too much, so I simply kept plodding along on my path of self-destruction, bone-tired, but unwilling to change. Though I knew the way back to life, I chose to remain lost, thirsty, hungry, and tired.
Today’s passage describes the solution to my condition. In it, Peter told his audience, that if they wanted to know times of refreshing, that they needed to repent, turn around, and follow Christ. If they were tired of their way, they desperately needed to change their lives and follow something different. In doing so, they would find new life.
This promise of revitalization is what many of us need. Maybe it isn’t drugs. Maybe it’s a pornography addiction, gluttony, greed, resentment, anger, or just plain selfishness. Whatever it is, we’ve not found joy where we thought we would and now, we’re miserable and stuck. We struggle. We’re weary. We don’t like where our lives are going, but we can’t seem to change.
To us, Peter says, Repent. Turn back. Do whatever it takes to stop following your self-destructive path and follow Christ. It won’t be easy to undo what you’ve done, but there is no other way out. Only in turning around, will you find the life, joy and peace that you’ve been looking for. Are you tired of your life? Do you want to know true satisfaction? Then daily do whatever it takes to repent and follow God.
*Don’t forget the new app! Download Faith in the Struggle, now available at the App Store for iPhone and at Google Play for android users.