The Importance of God's Love in the Process of Repentance

Inspired by Emily's post today, I decided to focus my studies on the topic of a broken heart and repentance.  I feel like whenever I am bogged down by a heavy weight that I just can't seem to carry anymore, it may be a sign that I haven't been using the atonement enough in my life, and I need to redouble my efforts.  Because many people in the scriptures were living in difficult situations like captivity, yet they were still free and happy.  I believe that no matter our circumstances, we can be free of weight.  When we take the yoke of Christ upon us, our burden is light.  I guess my yoke has been slipping off recently, or I haven't been taking what I need to to the Lord.

In order to repent, we need the grace of God.  Sometimes I think of grace like a gift that I receive after I put in all I have or a result of my own efforts.  But that's not how it works.  We can only be cleansed when we repent AND rely on God's saving grace.  Even in the act of repentance, we must depend on God.  Grace must be a part of our repentance process, not something we expect after we are done or have earned it.  I think a tactic of Satan is to convince us that we need to earn the love of God.  That we need to earn the grace of God.  The only thing that we need to receive the love and grace of God is a broken heart.  That is why God requires it.  He wants to give us his love and grace because He knows that is the only way we can repent.  We cannot repent alone.

Repentance is an act of faith in Jesus Christ.  I love what lds.org says about what this means.  Acting in faith is acknowledging the power of Christ's Atonement.  It is accepting the terms that He set when He paid the penalty for our sins: use His gift!  And (this is my favorite part because I hadn't thought about it before) we must GRATEFULLY recognize His Atonement and His power to cleanse us from sin.  I think gratitude is the key to maintaining a broken heart.  Seeing God's hand in our lives helps us remember that He loves us, that Satan is wrong and lying to us, and that we will be okay.  With that knowledge, we don't close our heart in fear.  Thus, the only way that we are even able to exercise our faith unto repentance is by acknowledging Christ's power, fulfilling His requirements by using His gift, and recognizing it with gratitude.  Only then will our hearts be prepared and open to receive God's love and grace, the two necessary enablers in the process of repentance.

I know that God's love is always there.  God's love can cast out the dark clouds that sometimes surround us.  I know that God wants to heal us and will forgive us, because I have felt His redeeming power in my own life.  He knows exactly what we need to get to a greater degree of happiness and freedom.  Many times what we need is a trial, and while we are struggling and trembling, we must recognize that even the trial itself is an evidence that God loves us.  He gives us hard things sometimes to guide us to an abundance of blessings.  I am so grateful for Jesus Christ who stands by us with patience, acceptance, and love and never loses sight of what we can become.

With gratitude,

Rachel