God: "I looked for someone to take a stand for me, and stand in the gap" (Ezekiel 22:30)
What is repentance? Repentance is understanding where we fall short of God’s expectations as they are revealed in the Bible and by God’s grace changing our mind, our heart and our actions to be more in line with God’s will. Repentance is making a complete break with sin (a “180”), and it it’s place, now the pursuit of righteousness. There is an ongoing repentance that all Christians do. That’s what it means to grow in Christlikeness. And there is a general repentance we do when we initially come to Christ as we turn from self and devote ourselves entirely to the lordship of Jesus Christ.
The fact is, the higher up we find ourselves in terms of power, influence, and wealth – the more people look up to us – the more vulnerable we are to pride and self-deceit, and the more prone we are to be blind to our spiritual needs and deficiencies. Once we are established in a position of influence, we have a reputation to maintain. We have a lot to lose if we get honest about our real spiritual needs. For most of us, the subtle encroachment of pride is more dangerous, and more likely to render us useless to God and others, than any other kind of failure.
