DEUT124 All that keeps a sinner from repentance is his own corrupt inner life and deceitful heart. But if he sincerely wishes to draw closer to God, the gate of repentance is not closed to him and no obstacle will prevent him from reaching it. On the contrary, God opens the gate of refinement for him and, in His grace and beneficence, guides him on the right path. As it says: “God is good and upright; He therefore guides sinners on the way” (Tehillim 25:8); “But from there you will search for Hashem your God, and you will find Him, if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul” (Devarim 4:29); “It is a thing very close to you...that you can do” (ibid. 30:14); “God is close to all who call Him, to all who call Him in truth” (Tehillim 145:18).