Daily Reflections From God's Word

Tag: repentance

  • Divine Disruptions – Day 1

    Jonah: When God Sends a Storm

    📖 “But the Lord sent out a great wind on the sea…” — Jonah 1:4 (NKJV)

    Jonah didn’t misunderstand God. He wasn’t unsure about his calling.
    He just didn’t like it.

    God said, “Arise, go to Nineveh…”
    Jonah said, “No thanks,” and ran the other way.

    This wasn’t fear—it was flat-out rebellion. Jonah didn’t want Nineveh spared. He didn’t want them forgiven. He hated them. He knew God would be merciful, and he didn’t want mercy for people he couldn’t stand.

    So he fled. Booked a ship. Headed to Tarshish like he could outrun the voice of God.

    But when Jonah ran, God didn’t chase him with silence.
    He chased him with a storm.

    “But the Lord sent out a great wind…”

    That one line says everything.

    The storm wasn’t from Satan. It wasn’t from sin.
    It was from God.

    A holy disruption. A divine intervention.
    A perfectly timed, unavoidable wake-up call.

    Jonah’s rebellion didn’t just affect him. His disobedience threatened the lives of everyone on that boat. That’s the thing about sin—it’s never private. It always has fallout. Always spills over onto the innocent. Always causes someone else to wonder, “Why is this happening?”

    But even as the boat rocked and the crew panicked, Jonah knew.
    He said, “I serve the God who made the sea.”
    He knew who was behind the wind.

    And here’s the grace in it all:
    God had already prepared a fish.

    The fish wasn’t judgment. It was protection.
    It was messy. It was uncomfortable. It stank. But it kept him alive and brought him back.

    That’s what God’s disruptions often feel like:
    Unpleasant. Inconvenient. Humbling.
    But merciful.

    He’ll interrupt your plans to protect your calling.
    He’ll break your boat before He lets you self-destruct.

    🙏 So here’s the question for today:

    • Are you running from something you’ve been clearly called to do?
    • Have others started to feel the weight of your decisions?
    • Could it be that the storm isn’t meant to crush you—but to bring you home?

    Jonah’s story reminds us that God doesn’t give up just because we do.
    He’ll shake the sea. He’ll send the storm. He’ll even prepare the fish.
    Because the call doesn’t get canceled just because you ran from it.

    He still wants you.
    Storm, scars, and all.

    📌 Closing Line:

    “When God doesn’t have your attention, He’ll disturb what does.”
    Just ask Jonah.

  • The Night the King Knelt: Jesus, Judas, and Peter

    It was the final evening before the Cross.

    The room was ready, the Passover meal had been prepared, and Jesus—fully aware of what was to come—chose to spend His last free hours not in isolation or defense… but in service. Humble, shocking, intimate service.

    “Jesus… having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end.” (John 13:1)

    Let that settle. He loved them—fully, knowingly, unwaveringly.

    And then He rose from supper, laid aside His garments, girded Himself with a towel, and poured water into a basin.

    He got down on His knees. And the King of Glory washed their feet.

    But this moment wasn’t just about humble leadership. It wasn’t about hygiene. It wasn’t even just a symbol.It was a revelation. And the contrast between how He treated Judas and Peter shows us just how deep that love runs.

    He Washed Judas.

    Yes, that Judas.

    Judas had already made the deal. Thirty silver coins. The price of a slave. The plan was in motion. And Jesus knew it all—

    “…Jesus knew who would betray Him…” (John 13:11).

    And yet He knelt before him anyway.

    No skipped turn. No avoided eye contact. No exposed accusation.

    Jesus washed the feet of His betrayer.Imagine that. Imagine the hands that had healed the blind gently wiping the dust from the feet of the man who would hand Him over to death. It was mercy poured out without condition. It was one final invitation. A moment of holy confrontation.

    But Judas didn’t break. He didn’t confess. He didn’t weep.He got up from the table and walked away with clean feet—and a defiled heart.

    He chose darkness, even as the Light knelt before him.

    How many times do we do the same? How often does Jesus offer us mercy—again—and we harden our hearts, justify our choices, and walk right out into the night?

    And…….He Washed Peter.

    Oh, Peter. Impulsive, passionate, and stubborn.

    When Jesus came to him with the basin, Peter resisted.“Lord, are You washing my feet?”

    … “You shall never wash my feet!” (John 13:6, 8)

    That sounds noble. Like reverence. But it was pride cloaked in piety. Peter was trying to control the narrative—to protect Jesus, to preserve the hierarchy. But Jesus wasn’t having it.“

    *If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me.” (v. 8)

    That stopped Peter in his tracks. And true to form, he flipped to the opposite extreme:

    “Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head!” (v. 9)

    Peter didn’t fully understand yet, but he surrendered. And Jesus met him right there—in confusion, in boldness, in brokenness. Jesus knew Peter would deny Him in just a few hours, not once, not even twice, but three times. Yet Jesus didn’t withhold His hands. He didn’t shame him or scold him.

    He washed him.He loved him.He prepared him—for failure… and for restoration.

    Where Judas hardened, Peter would eventually weep bitterly and return. That’s the difference. Not perfection, but repentance.

    So What Does This Mean for Us?

    It means Jesus still kneels today. He still offers cleansing. He still serves with nail-scarred hands—those who betray, those who deny, and those who simply misunderstand.

    It means no part of us is too dirty for Jesus to wash. But He will not force His grace on anyone. Judas shows us what it looks like to refuse. Peter shows us what it looks like to wrestle with pride… and then surrender.It means love kneels before us and asks: Will you let Me wash you? Will you let Me serve you? Will you follow Me… all the way to the cross?We love the idea of a God who reigns. But Maundy Thursday confronts us with a God who kneels. A Savior who scrubs the very feet that will carry betrayal and denial. A Messiah who looks us in the eye, knowing every failure, and says: “I still want you.”

  • More Than Sacrifice: Returning to the Heart of True Repentance

    “For You do not desire sacrifice, or else I would give it; You do not delight in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart—These, O God, You will not despise.”— Psalm 51:16-17 (NKJV)

    If we’re honest, most of us have tried to negotiate with God at some point. When conviction comes crashing down, when we can no longer ignore the weight of our own sin, what’s the first thing we do? We scramble to “do” something — as if enough good deeds or pious gestures can patch over the broken places in our soul. We promise to pray more, serve harder, give bigger. But let’s not kid ourselves.

    God isn’t looking for our performance. He’s looking for our heart.

    That’s what makes David’s words in Psalm 51 so powerful. Here is a man who has fallen hard — caught in the mess of his own rebellion, his sin exposed under the holy light of God’s justice. But instead of offering God some grand display, David offers Him what God desires most: honest repentance.“Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.” (Psalm 51:10 NKJV)

    David doesn’t just want to feel better about himself. He wants to be changed. He pleads with God, not to ignore his sin, but to cleanse him from it. He knows the weight of his guilt and confesses it plainly: “Against You, You only, have I sinned, and done this evil in Your sight.” (Psalm 51:4 NKJV)

    Compare this to King Saul. When Saul disobeyed God in 1 Samuel 15, he tried to cover his rebellion with sacrifice. He kept what was forbidden, then tried to justify his actions under the pretense of worship. But God’s reply, through the prophet Samuel, cuts straight to the core: “Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed than the fat of rams.” (1 Samuel 15:22 NKJV)

    It’s a warning we’d do well to take seriously.We can fill our calendars with church activities. We can lift our hands in worship, write generous checks, and quote all the right verses. But if our hearts are not surrendered — if obedience is replaced by empty motions — we are only playing games with a holy God.

    And He is not fooled.

    What God desires is not outward compliance but inward transformation. He does not despise the broken spirit. He does not turn away from the contrite heart. In fact, that is exactly what draws His mercy near.“Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, and uphold me by Your generous Spirit.” (Psalm 51:12 NKJV)

    Maybe that’s where you are today. Maybe you’re tired of performing, tired of carrying the weight of your sin in silence. Can I tell you this? There is freedom waiting on the other side of surrender. Not in pretending you’re fine, not in sacrificing to cover your shame, but in bringing your broken heart to the only One who can make it whole.

    So let’s lay it down.

    Let’s stop running.

    Let’s return, with honesty and humility, to the God who delights in mercy.

    I’d love to hear your reflections. How has God met you in your moments of honest repentance? How have you experienced His restoration?

    Let’s encourage one another in the comments.