The Time Is Now

In today’s readings, we are reminded of the urgency of responding when we are convicted by God. The Lord sent Jonah to the people of Nineveh with a simple message, “Forty days more and Nineveh shall be destroyed.” The response of the people should inspire us. They didn’t say, “Great! We have 39 more days to go wild then we will turn back to the Lord.” They immediately repented and showed God by word and deed that they were truly sorry.

Sadly, that is the response that many of us give the Lord. We know we are disobeying Him. We know we need to change. We know that there are desires, thoughts, and feelings in our lives from which we need to turn. But do we have a sense of urgency?  

In December, my wife was diagnosed with cancer. There was no discussion between us and her doctors about how long we could postpone treatment before her condition would cause her death. Our response was, “Let’s get this out of her ASAP!” Even knowing the treatment would be long and painful. All that mattered was getting rid of cancer. The truth for all of us is that sin is cancer. A cancer of the soul that, if let untreated, will eventually kill God’s life within us. We need to ask the Lord to give us a sense of urgency about sin that will lead us to complete repentance from and rejection of all sin.

The good news, as today’s Psalm teaches us is that, “A heart that is contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn.” God’s love and mercy have no limits. He is longing to forgive us, to heal us, and to set us free. If we repent and turn to God, like the people of Nineveh, He will give us a clean heart and steadfast spirit. This Lent, let us pray for a deeper sense of urgency toward the sin in our lives and the grace to truly repent. God bless you.

John Beaulieu is the Director of Marketing and Engagement for the Christian Outreach Office that runs the Steubenville Conferences. Find out more about them at steubenvilleconferences.com.