| “‘Even now,’ declares the Lord, ‘return to me with all your heart…’” |
| —Joel 2:12b |
Not long ago, I heard a woman say to her friend: “I was so upset I could tear my hair out!”
When I was a small boy, I often heard my Uncle Ed make this statement. For quite a long time, whenever I saw a man with thinning hair, I thought that the man was probably upset a lot and had torn his hair out. Now that I’ve become a bald old man, I know that I did not tear out my own hair—at least I don’t think I did.
In ancient Israel, it was common to signal remorse by tearing ones clothing. Some even put on garments made from a very coarse cloth—the kind used to make sacks for grain—and sit in the cold ashes from yesterday’s cooking fire. Thus the phrase: “He put on sackcloth and ashes.” (Daniel 9:3) But, when the Holy Spirit convicts us of behavior that needs to change, we should take the advice from the Prophet Joel who recorded God’s words in Joel 2:12-13:
“Even now,” declares the Lord, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning.”
Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity.
God always welcomes our repentance with open arms of love. Let us be quick to respond to the Holy Spirit’s promptings. When we need to repent, let’s quickly repent. Instead of tearing our clothes, or tearing out our hair, let’s go to God in prayer, repent of our sins, and ask Him to forgive our sins for the sake of His dearly loved Son, Jesus.
Originally posted on Monday, February 2, 2015
