Jonah 3, verse 10 through 4, verse 11
I’d never stopped to investigate how God’s repentance works.
If we, as Christians, are to repent of our sins - to feel genuine remorse and to seek the Spirit’s help in changing our actions, thoughts and beliefs, and to seek forgiveness - what does it mean when God says that He repents of the “evil” he’d intended to bring upon a person or people?
God sees us all - Jew and Gentile - as His wayward children. He interacts with us like a father does, bringing punishment as a corrective, not as a manifestation of some twisted desire to do violence.
Suffering is most often a result of our separation from God. Through faith and perseverance, however, we learn how to remain connected with God and rely on Him for all things, so that when suffering visits us we view it as a strength, not as an affliction. We now experience God as our strength, our source for everything, including our own wellbeing, according to His will.
God is free to change his mind as He interacts with us. When we repent, He is free to repent in kind.
