September 2, 2018

OUR WHOLE HEART

Joel 2:12-13

Now says the Lord your God, “Turn to Me with all your heart, with fasting and wailing and with mourning; rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the Lord your God, for He is merciful and compassionate. He is longsuffering and plenteous in mercy and repents of evils.

Personal Challenge

As long as we continue to live in our physical bodies, we will be tempted to sin. Sometimes the temptation comes from the outside, from the fallen and corrupt world. More often, though, the temptation comes from within. It may be a thought that we hold on to for an extended time until it festers into a sinful act. It may be a passion or a desire that we have not yet mastered by turning it over to our Lord, It may be the one thing in our life that we hide deep within our heart refusing to let go of. Joel reminds us that in order to reap the gifts that our Lord wants to pour out upon us, we must turn to Him with our whole heart, we must accompany that with actions such as fasting, wailing, and morning, which are all acts of repentance. He wants our heart, which then drives our actions, given in repentance. Then we will see His mercy and compassion and forgiveness. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!