“While He May Be Found”
Seek the LORD while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the LORD, and He will have mercy on him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon.
Listen to the "Verse by Verse" episode covering this scripture.
When God calls us, we need to answer. He is very patient, but the Bible shows there will be a time when it is too late, when the doors are shut.
Consider the parable of the wise and foolish virgins in Matthew 25:1-13. Those who foolishly came unprepared were shut out. They were the ones who forgot to keep their vessels full of oil (symbolic of neglecting the gift of the Holy Spirit—not staying connected to God through prayer and Bible study and not making use of the Spirit to transform their lives). (See more about this parable in our article “Lessons From the Parable of the 10 Virgins.”)
Forsaking sins and unrighteous thoughts and returning to God provides an action plan for repentance. Upon our making the U-turn that repentance implies, God promises abundant pardon, provided at the cost of our Savior’s life. See more about repentance in the article “How to Repent.”
