Renting & Repenting

Reading of the Day 5/14/25: 2 Chronicles 33-35

2 Chronicles 34:19: And it came to pass, when the king had heard the words of the law, that he rent his clothes.

This title may be a little confusing at first, because there are several definitions of the word "rent." But in Scripture, it usually means to tear something apart, usually clothing, in an act of sorrow or grief. I have probably mentioned this in a post or two before, but the response of king Josiah in hearing the Word of God has always touched my heart. He rent his clothes, being heartbroken that Judah had strayed so far from the Truth. Someone found the book & brought it to the king & read it to him, and that's how he heard it for the first time. It makes sense that God brought the book of the law to him though, because king Josiah was already taking away the idols and doing what was right even before the book was found...but king Josiah just had the most humbling response! He did not just give the Words spoken to him a few moments of thought, thinking they sounded nice...he was deeply convicted about not having followed the Word for so long! That is the pang our hearts should feel after being distanced from The Lord too! Renting & repenting are the same thing! Just like king Josiah rent his clothes outwardly showing his sorrowful state, we too must rent our hearts inwardly in spirit, repenting & asking God for forgiveness for wandering so far from His presence! And the promising thing is, when we are genuine, God openly receives us back! When we let ourselves go through this process of renting & repenting, we feel so much better and so much closer to God! Renting & repenting brings relief! It may not be the most desired process. It may be the thing we try to avoid by blaming others for our own wrongdoings. But it is usually the thing we need to do! Rent, repent & release it all to Jesus! Take Him at His Word, and be refreshed in Jesus' Name!