The Secret to a New Life

People often listen to God only when they go through pain and suffering. As of Sunday, we began our journey of faith toward Mount Zion in Jerusalem. On Mount Zion, there is a promise of salvation and deliverance.

We have been talking about the time of prophet Joel, when there was famine, hunger, drought, destruction, and suffering. God used Joel to tell the people why they were experiencing all these hardships: they had turned away from God. They needed to make things right with Him, and the first step in doing so was repentance.

“‘Now, therefore,’ says the Lord, ‘Turn to Me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning.’ So rend your heart, and not your garments; return to the Lord your God, for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness; and He relents from doing harm.” Joel 2:12-13

Everything that goes wrong in your life goes wrong for a reason. God does not cause problems, punish you, or bring suffering upon you. However, He may allow certain things to happen to awaken you and draw you back to Him.

You need to look for the cause. There is always a reason why your family life, marriage, relationships, health, or spiritual life may be struggling. When you identify the cause, you can begin to address the problem. And even when you cannot find an apparent cause, know that suffering and brokenness are not God's desire for your life.

You need to repent and turn to Him wholeheartedly. Then you can find forgiveness, restoration, and transformation. Your surrender must be sincere, placing your whole life on the altar to serve, obey, and follow Him.

Repentance means leaving behind wrong ways of living. Unless there is a genuine change in direction and attitude, there is no true repentance.

After repentance, you need to focus on receiving the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the One who makes you a new person, transforms you into a child of God, and helps you continue following Jesus faithfully until the end.

The Holy Spirit will restore your life, rebuild what has been broken, and give you a new life.

“And it shall come to pass afterward that I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions.” Joel 2:28

The secret to receive the Holy Spirit is sincere repentance. If you die in sin, you have no salvation.