What is Repentance? | Laying Aside Your Solutions

by Alan Smith

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.
Proverbs 3:5–6

It was a two-cycle engine, which required a mixture of oil and gas to operate properly. That would have been helpful information to have up front. All I knew was the dirt bike was out of fuel, so I bought some unleaded and filled up the tank. With no oil, the motor eventually locked up and the bike was ruined. Because I misunderstood the problem, my solution only served to make a simple problem much worse.

Many of us work very hard to fix things in our lives that aren’t working. We understand the needed changes and invest lots of time and energy toward setting things right. We know the solution. We work hard to do the right things and not do the wrong things. We learn right information and apply it in our lives. However, very often our most sincere efforts simply make things worse.

Jesus encountered all kinds of people who were committed to their own solutions. The Essenes thought the answer was to withdraw completely from a corrupt and compromised society. The Zealots thought the answer was to take up arms and incite revolution. The Sadducees thought the answer was to make nice with Rome and solidify their own powerbase through compromise. The Pharisees thought the answer was to make sure everybody worked harder at following the Law. Jesus had one word for all of them: repent.

Repentance is when I lay aside my solutions; when I abandon reliance upon my understanding, efforts, strength and wisdom. Repentance is not simply trying harder, however sincerely. Trying harder only produces futility and frustration. God knows how to unravel the knotted mess of my life. In the kingdom, I can experience His solutions applied His ways resulting in true healing and freedom.

1. What solutions do you need to lay aside?

2. How are those solutions rooted in a trust in your own understanding rather than God’s?

3. In light of this, what would true repentance look like in your life?