When Do We Need to Repent? The Asbury Revival Shows Us
When Do We Need to Repent? The Asbury Revival Shows Us
Photo by Ben White on Unsplash
How rare is public repentance these days? Politicians who used to reach across the aisles instead shout each other down. Online we see cancel culture running amok. Have you ever been “canceled” by someone on social media? It can feel a little like road rage.
No wonder young people are anxious. Jonathan Haidt, professor of social psychology at New York University said in a recent WSJ article, it is “national crisis.” He says that GenZ “has extraordinarily high rates of anxiety, depression, self-harm, suicide and fragility.” He goes on to say “there has “never been a generation this depressed, anxious and fragile.”
Our children deserve better and repentance is a good place to start for those of us who want to help.
Asbury Revival
The good news is that young people are showing those of us who are older what repentance looks like.
At Asbury University during a call to confession last Wednesday, Feb. 8, at least 100 people fell to their knees and bowed at the altar. As reported in the Asbury Collegian, it has turned into a revival that has gathered momentum as students from 21 other colleges have arrived to join in.
A student shared why students are going: “To confess, reconcile, heal and allow prayers to be spoken over us — [God] knew what we needed to do and helped us do it.”
Young people are longing to connect with God and are repenting. Maybe the rest of us can we learn from them.
Repentance
When was the last time you got on your knees and asked God to show you if you have anything to repent for?
Many of us have not lived our best life lately. I know I haven’t thought charitably about those who have sometimes disagreed with me or even attacked me. But I’ve also felt isolated and have longed for community.
So many of us are anxious or lonely. And maybe we don’t really understand how we got there. Maybe we need to find the humility to have a conversation with God about it.
Today is a great day to learn from the students at Asbury and see if there is something that we need to confess. Repenting is a way of starting over. Humbling ourselves is where we begin.
Comments (7)
Leave a Reply
Hi Seth
Repentance is the only door to revival. Repentance strips off the veils that keep you from entering into the most holy place. Some people seek God in worship and prayer but never seem to enter into the intimacy of His presence. When that happens to me, the first thing that I do is ask God to expose the hidden sin in my heart, or the lack of love and compassion for the lost and poor. Almost every time God reveals something that is displeasing to him, and this is keeping me from experiencing his presence. The sincerity of my repentance and the level of hunger for righteousness determines the intimacy of my relationship with Jesus. It saddens me to see how few churches preach about the necessity of repentance.
Richard – amen! I love your humility. You inspire me!
Yes, we do need to repent and we need to repent to one another as well. If I’ve ever done anything to offend you Seth I do want to ask your forgiveness. I value and treasure you as a brother in Christ. You have always been so kind to me. Especially when I lost my precious Angela when she was 25 years old. Thank you for always being such a kind friend.
Sandy – You are kind. This is the kind of posture we need toward one another if the revival is to bear fruit. And no, Sandy, you have similarly been a wonderful encouragement to me. Even as we continue to grieve Angela’s passing, let’s make our lives count till we meet her in heaven!
hi Seth!
Yes, yes, and more yes. I have a feeling, as always, the younger gen is going to help show the older gen a thing or two about the movement of God in refreshing ways.
Last week Ps. 19:12 hit home afresh – ‘ forgive my hidden faults’. My experience has been when I pray this, He reveals them so I can confess, turn away/repent from them, and receive His forgiveness.
Thanks for writing about this, Seth! It’s been a gift to see this unfold here in Wilmore. It’s my prayer that whatever the Lord is doing here extends to the rest of our country and the nations.