Therefore also now, saith the Lord, turn ye even to me with all your heart,
and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning: And
rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the Lord your God: for he is
gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him
of the evil. (Joel 2:12-13 KJV)
Today, we continue to consider Ash Wednesday and the season of Lent, as
we prepare to celebrate Easter—what Jesus did for us in His suffering, death,
and resurrection. Most of what follows
is an edited and slightly abridged version of a sermon I developed in
2008. To read the first post from
Wednesday, please click on “Ash Wednesday” in the first line of this paragraph.
Ash Wednesday is a time to consider our mortality as well as a safe
place to commune with God—allowing Him to search our hearts—confessing our sins
or hurtful, unjust actions—as He shines the light of His precious Holy Spirit
upon us. God forgives us, when we humbly
repent, may we accept His wonderful forgiveness and gift of a “new start”,
during this time of preparing for Easter.
Therefore also
now, saith the Lord, turn ye even to me
with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning: And
rend your heart, and not your garments,
and turn unto the Lord your God: for he is
gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him
of the evil. (Joel 2:12-13 KJV, emphasis
mine)
The Old Testament prophet, Joel, states in verses 12-13 to return to
God with all of your heart and to rend your heart and not your garments. To me, returning to God with all your heart
is to be totally in love—passionately in love with God and having the humility
to admit that we are in dire need of forgiveness and that we cannot save
ourselves. We are so in love with God
that nothing else matters; our eyes are on Him alone. Our relationship with Him is our first
priority. Ideally, He should be the
first person we think about when we wake-up and the last person we think about
when we fall asleep.
If we return to God with all of our heart, we admit our need for what
He has, we also show our humility. We
know from 2 Chronicles 7:14 (KJV) that: “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and
pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from
heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.” God is ready and just to forgive us and to
heal us. Yet at the same time, we cannot
return to God without rending our hearts.
After all, God is holy and due to His holiness, He cannot be around
sin. Yet, when we are truly humble and
confess our sin, seeking forgiveness, He is quick to forgive.
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| From http://livegreaterfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/lent.png |
Joel’s words should call us to
action today, as we journey through Lent.
God wants us to grieve our sins but not so much in an outward way but in
an inner way as we truly take stock of our inner life. By rending our hearts, instead of our
garments (in the OT rending garments was a sign of great grief and mourning) we
are able to focus on what our hearts are telling us. It also is done in the sanctity and privacy
of an “inner room” or our “prayer closet”.
It is there that we can truly commune with God and receive our reward
from Him much like the humble tax collector in contrast to the pious Pharisee (see
Matthew 6:1-6).
Therefore, I encourage you to use
some quiet time during this season of Lent to allow God, the Holy Spirit to
search you, to know you, and to try you—shining the light of His love and
presence in your heart—pointing out to you your sinful, hurtful ways and a time
for seeking forgiveness. This taking
stock should be done more than just during Lent; it should be done
regularly…rather like cleaning house!
What is your heart telling you?
Please join with me in prayer:
Forgiving and Loving God, We
admit that we are sinful people in dire need of forgiveness. We confess that we need Your forgiveness and
Your healing touch in our hearts and lives.
During this season of preparation for Easter, guide us to open our
hearts to Your spotlight searching out the sin, the yuck in our hearts and
lives; allowing you to cleanse our hearts and spirits. As we become aware of our sin, may we be
quick to seek Your forgiveness through Jesus Christ. Thank You for Your forgiveness that cleanses
us and frees us to be Your people in an increasingly dark world. In our freedom, guide us to speak healing
words to those all around us who are in need of freedom found only in You. In Jesus’ Name we pray. Amen.
From My Heart to Yours,
Kim
