Feasting at The Table - The Turning is Crucial

2 Chronicles 7:14, reading from the English Standard Version of the Bible, says: “if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”

Google tells me that 2 Chronicles 7:14 was the third most searched for Bible verse of 2020. 

Recently, I’ve been thinking about the importance of how we live, that we often fall but God in His mercy extends grace to us, that it is an offer that we can accept or not, and if we choose to acknowledge our sins and ask God for forgiveness, there is another crucial step that we must take to further the process - Turn. 

I have fallen short in this area many times and I can imagine this is true for all of us because none us here is perfect. 

So today, I am hoping to be enlightened and encouraged as I strive to learn more about how God wants me to live. I hope all of us can leave from here enriched as well. Amen?!

2 Chronicles 7:14 speaks to a complete chain of events that needs to take place once we recognize the error of our ways. We not only repent, but we must fully turn back to God in our hearts and actions. 

See, repentance alone, without the completion of true transformation, can lead to a superficial change, where one feels remorse or seeks forgiveness but fails to walk in new ways. 

So let’s look at an acronym to help us out here.

“TURN”—Trust, Understand, Repent, and Nurture. 

T - Trust in God

Psalm 37:5 - “Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act.” 

Here, Family, we are reminded that trusting God involves surrendering our ways to Him and believing that He will respond.  Trusting God means depending on His wisdom and direction, even when we don’t fully understand His plan. Faith and trust go hand-in-hand; without trust, repentance remains incomplete.

U - Understand His Will

Romans 12:2 - “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” 

Ephesians 5:17 - “Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.” 

Here, we must seek God’s guidance and wisdom to understand His desires, plans and purpose for our lives. God is our Creator and He knows best. We should seek to understand His ways in order to avoid the ways that pull us back into former patterns.

R - Repent of Sins 

John 1:9 - “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” 

Acts 3:19 - “Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord.” 

Repentance involves confession and seeking forgiveness, trusting in God’s faithfulness to cleanse us. True repentance is only effective if we move away from sin completely. It will be visible in the way we live; it bears fruit. Merely feeling sorry for sins is not enough—there must be evidence of a changed heart and life. 

Matthew 3:8 - “Bear fruit in keeping with repentance.” 

Repentance must come with the turning, a change, transformation, away with the old and in with the new. To help us on this journey, we’ve got to immerse ourselves in God’s Words.

Psalm 119:105 - “Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.”

N - Nurture a New Path

Colossians 3:10 - “And have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.” 

Galatians 5:16 - “So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.” 

We are completing the steps here but the process continues, because while we have now turned from our evil ways and come back to God, we need to stay in God. Nurturing a new path involves continual renewal, becoming more like Christ by following His ways and growing in understanding, day by day.

Family, by turning back to God through trust, understanding, repentance, and nurturing a new path, as believers, we will fulfil the call in 2 Chronicles 7:14 to humble ourselves, pray, seek His face, and turn from those ways that dishonour God. 

And we can’t stop there. It is important that we nurture this new journey and sustain our faith in God. When we do this, we will experience God’s forgiveness and healing. That’s why the turning is crucial.

2 Peter 3:18 - “But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”

Galatians 6:9 - “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”

Unfortunately, there are some people who repent but do not turn. May I suggest to us today that there are dangers of incomplete repentance.

Matthew 15:8 ”‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.’” 

Jesus warned that mere words or outward gestures, without a genuine heart change, are empty. Repentance without turning, without that transformation, isn’t enough. It can lead to shallow faith, where the heart remains unchanged.

James 2:17 tells us “Faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.” 

Psalm 28:7 - “The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me.”

Hebrews 11:6 - “Without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” 

Family, repentance is a beginning, it must be followed by action that demonstrates true faith. Genuine transformation involves both turning away from sin and actively walking toward God’s path.

Each leg of “TURN” is interconnected and essential. 

Trust opens our hearts to God, understanding keeps us on the path, repentance removes the obstacles, and nurturing sustains our growth. 

Without one of these elements, the transformation can be incomplete, leaving room for old habits and doubts to creep back in. 

The turning is crucial.

aub - 13 November 2024

www.zjoyvi.com