Who is she that looketh forth as the morning, fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible as an army with banners? —Song of Solomon 6:10
Without repentance, your refreshing, revival, and restoration cannot come. The gift of the Holy Spirit cannot come. “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost” (Acts 2:38, italics added).
People vainly seek the presence of God without first repenting. But God hates sin. He demands, “Be holy: for I the Lord your God am holy” (Leviticus 19:2). Be certain of this: You cannot know His presence without first turning from your sin and guilt. Repentance was the first adamant message of the early church: “Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord” (Acts 3:19, italics added).
We must forsake, rebuke, and reject the shadows of sin threatening to pull us back into the obscure darkness. We must abandon old wells—wells from the world, from past sin, from religious tradition. We will never be “the terrible army of banners” until we first repent.
Jesus, I repent of all my past and I reject the
night of religious traditions and the ways
of the world. I seek to walk in Your light
and march in Your army. Draft me to
do Your will in Your way. Amen.
