Genuine repentance begins with a broken heart and its resultant effect can be seen on the outside as a transformed life. The Lord is not moved by your prayer and fasting, without a broken heart. It is not the will of God that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. The Lord will not despise a broken and a contrite heart. Anyone who hardens his heart against God is actually destroying his own soul.

When God saved Israel from Egyptian bondage and captivity, He hedged them in by providing a cover of protection. But every time they rejected God and worshipped strange gods, the hedge was broken, and their enemies overpowered them. However, whenever they repented and returned unto the Lord, He delivered them. That was a dangerous pattern which born-again believers should not imitate. You should never take the grace of God for granted.

When God saw that Israel became comfortable in the wilderness, He told them to move forward. He took them through the way of the red sea to prove them and for them to learn some beneficial lessons. However, in their disobedience they stayed longer than necessary in the wilderness. The Lord is concerned about your spiritual stagnancy and lack of progress. Now it's time to make progress in your journey to heaven.

You do not have much time to waste. It will not be long before your pilgrimage on earth comes to an end. The Bible describes life as a vapour which appears for a little time, then vanishes away. Life is like a flower that blossoms at sunrise and withers at sunset. This world is not your home; you are here on a journey that will eventually come to an end without warning.

The story of the prodigal son and his father paints a vivid picture of what happens between the backslidden believer and the heavenly Father. God is yearning and waiting for such a time when the backslider will realise himself, arise and come back home. The moment he takes the first step, God will run to him with compassion to receive and restore him.