True Repentance

Remember, O Lord, your great mercy and love, for they are from of old. Remember not the sins of my youth and my rebellious ways; according to your love remember me, for you are good, O Lord. Psalm 25:6-7
O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing. Matthew 23:37

The other day, I had true repentance. You see, shame has been a major issue in my life. So I was always apologizing to God and people just because I even existed. I would read about revivals and the people that fell on the ground weeping because they felt so bad for their sins. I knew this was true repentance. It had nothing to do with shame. Shame is looking at yourself and feeling bad that you aren't a better person. It is a form of pride because it has to do with hoping in yourself rather than God. In my life, shame is so oppressive that when it comes over me I am rendered useless. It is shame that wants to rob life itself from me.
When I had true repentance, I cried because I could see how much God loved me and wanted the best for me. The above verse where Jesus is weeping over Jerusalem kept going through my head. Jesus was weeping for me. He wasn't condemning me and calling me defective. He was grieving because I was missing out. It broke my heart. I wept right along with him. I didn't feel ashamed, I felt loved. I had such joy and hope.
Maybe this has never been an issue in your life. I truly thank God for that. Will you join me in praying for our brothers and sisters that only know shame. Let's pray for true repentance for the body of Christ and for the whole world. Let's ask God for revival in our lives and the lives of the whole world. Then we will begin to know how much God really loves us.