Aaah…Refreshing

Peter had just preached his Pentecost sermon and he and John have taken to the road to share the message of the risen Savior. They come across a lame man begging for alms. Instead of a few pennies, the lame man receives healing. All the people ran to them to see the miracle. Peter takes this opportunity to deliver a life-changing message: Repent and be refreshed!

Do you remember the Nestea Plunge? It’s an iconic Nestea commercial run in the 1980’s and early 1990’s where the actors drink Nestea. As the person begins to drink the tea, they begin to experience a new reality as the ground around them turns into water. They are refreshed, full of both joy and tea, and begin to fall straight backwards into the water.

That’s the picture I get in my mind’s eye when I meditate on Peter’s words. I call it the repent plunge! It also reminds me of David. David understood the repent plunge more than most. After committing adultery and murder, he was unrepentant and kept quiet about his sin. But over time, that unconfessed sin began to take a toll on him. He said:

When I kept silent, my bones grew old through my groaning all the day long. For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; My vitality was turned into the drought of summer. (Ps.32:3-4)

For Your arrows pierce me deeply, and Your hand presses me down. There is no soundness in my flesh because of Your anger, nor any health in my bones because of my sin. For my iniquities have gone over my head; Like a heavy burden they are too heavy for me. My wounds are foul and festering because of my foolishness. I am troubled, I am bowed down greatly; I go mourning all the day long. For my loins are full of inflammation, and there is no soundness in my flesh. I am feeble and severely broken; I groan because of the turmoil of my heart. (Ps.38:2-8)

Can you hear David’s agonizing heart? It just about breaks mine just reading these verses. But once David confessed his sin and repented of it, everything within him changed. The weight was lifted, his body recovered, and he was back in fellowship with God. Listen to his heart now!

Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit. . .Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, you righteous; and shout for joy, all you upright in heart! (Ps.32:1-2, 11)

And we wonder why so many of us are tired, weary, achy, and sick. Could it be that we haven’t repented of our sins? Oh, we may have confessed them to God and have asked Him for forgiveness, but are we truly repentant? According to the words of Luke it is more than just unconfessed sin that can cause trouble in our bodies and souls, it is a matter of repentance…that willingness to turn away from sin and turn towards God. That is when refreshing comes.

The word refresh means “to take a breath, to have room, to find relief, to give rest, recovery of breath.” Imagine…if we would confess our sin and repent of our sinful ways, we are promised amazing benefits! Those benefits are not just for our spirits but for our bodies and souls! (See WORD WISDOM for a deeper study of rest)         

Here are just a few:

Repentance will bring you closer to our Father in Heaven, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit.  (Zech1:3) 

God will wash your sins away. (Acts 3:19)

God will purify you. (1 Jn.1:9)

You will start prospering. (Pro.28:13)

You will inherit God’s Kingdom. (Mk.1:15)

You will start eating the good things of the land. (Is.1:19-20)

Repentance produces godly grief over sin (2 Cor.7:9)

Healed. Restored. Refreshed. Repentance is a powerful thing. The Lord wants to refresh our weary, battered souls and our ailing, hurting bodies. Do you need that? Do you want that? Begin repenting.

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