I worked in a bookkeeping department for about a year. Every week I had to make one large bank deposit. I totaled up the checks, recorded their bank routing numbers on the deposit slip, then totaled them up again.

My first day on the job, the two totals didn’t match. I was angry and frustrated. This isn’t fair, I thought to myself, this is somebody’s fault.

As I fumed and calculated, I realized whose fault it was – mine! After all, nobody else had worked on the deposit.

The sooner I admitted my fault, and the quicker I went back to the very beginning, the sooner the totals balanced, and the sooner I was off the hook. Otherwise I would still be sitting there.

Repentance is indeed a gift – a good gift. When you come through the fear and into the arms of God, you learn that nothing else can set you free.