How Does One Come to the Place of Repentance?

How does a person come to the place in life where they truly want to repent? It seems to me that God Himself must open the eyes of one’s heart to see the wrong they have done. Without His mercy, we remain blind to our own condition.

This is why I’ve come to believe that God is saving this deep awakening for the time just before Yeshua returns to rule. When that moment comes, none of us will be able to judge or question God by saying, “Why are You saving so‑and‑so?” Instead, the only honest question will be, “Why are You saving me?”

We all find it easy to judge others, yet we struggle to see our own wretched condition. We think wrong thoughts, we do wrong things, and even the good that comes from us is not truly from us. It is from God — yet we often take the credit.

Scripture Witness

The Bible teaches that we are to be holy because God is holy (Leviticus 19:2). But it also teaches that none of us is righteous on our own.

Romans 3:10 (NIV)
“As it is written: ‘There is no one righteous, not even one.’”

Deuteronomy 9:5
It is not for your righteousness or the uprightness of your heart that you are going to possess their land, but because of the wickedness of these nations that the Lord your God is driving them out before you.

Deuteronomy 9:6
“Know, then, it is not because of your righteousness that the Lord your God is giving you this good land to possess, for you are a stubborn people.”

Daniel 9:7
“Righteousness belongs to You, O Lord, but to us open shame, as it is this day.”

1 Corinthians 1:30
But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification and redemption.

A Heart Awakened by God

Repentance is not something we generate from within ourselves. It is something God awakens in us — a gift of mercy, a moment of clarity, a turning of the heart. When He opens our eyes, we finally see our need, our brokenness, and His overwhelming grace.

And when that happens, repentance is no longer a burden. It becomes the doorway to life.