Turn to God now: Don't let tragedy harden your heart

If you find yourself hardening your heart and turning from God over all of the horrifying news and events you're seeing, I beg you to turn back to Him.

All of this only makes sense if there's justice in the end. That justice can only come from Him.

Saving faith is not just a moment of belief, a moment of repentance. It is a lifetime of faithful choices to live like Jesus.

This world and all of us are dust in waiting. We are here to seek God, believe in Him, repent of our sins, and give our tiny, fleeting, sin-infused lives to Him.

The "god" of this age wants you to turn away from eternity in heaven and toward eternal death because of temporary anger, fear, and frustration.

But don't let your heart be hardened. Give your anger, your hatred, your pain, anxiety, sadness, doubts, regrets, your fleeting hope — give it to Jesus. Step in faith and draw near to Him, and He will draw near to you.

If you feel even the smallest desire to have God in your life, pray to Him now. Tell Him you want to give your life to Him. Repent of your sins to Him. He will forgive you. It is infinitely worth it. You are worth it. Jesus loves you.

To be clear, I'm not asking you to make a momentary commitment.

Saving faith is not just a moment of belief, a moment of repentance. It is a lifetime of faithful choices to live like Jesus and of repentance when you fail to do so.

It is a lifetime of prayer, studying the Bible, prayer, worshipping Him with others in communion together, prayer, sharing the gospel with others, and prayer. It is a lifetime of seeking to be obedient to Him and repenting to Him when you aren't.

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You will never do it perfectly. You will often fall short. Sometimes you may even wonder if any of this is real. But keep doing it.

In your moments of weakest faith, turn to Him in faith. Ask Him to help your unbelief (Mark 9:24). In your moments of sin and failure, turn to Him in repentance. Ask Him to forgive you your sins, and He will. In your moments of hopelessness, sadness, anger, and fear, turn to Him in prayer. Thank Him for His grace and mercy toward you, and ask Him to help you to be more like Him.

When you are joyful, or even when you're not, turn to Him in praise and worship. Thank Him for creating you, for forgiving you, for loving you, for offering you eternal paradise in heaven with Him.

Whatever you feel, wherever you are, turn to Him — for life. I promise you, it's worth it.

A version of this essay originally appeared on Spike Cohen's X account.