Turn Back to the Lord
What is getting in the way of your heart fully belonging to God?
Verse of the Day
“That is why the Lord says, “Turn to me now, while there is time. Give me your hearts. Come with fasting, weeping, and mourning.”
Today’s Devotional
The book of Joel is a book about God’s judgement and repentance. Though it’s not known the date it was written or who was king at the time, the occasion was during a plague of locusts. This plague, according to the prophet Joel, was from God to get the people’s attention and turn their hearts back to God. If the people of Israel would do that, the Lord would restore more than the locusts had destroyed.
It has been on my heart for a few weeks or so that the American church is primed for a revival. And I am feeling compelled to look at my life and make some decisions. Am I actively pursuing Jesus and His teachings? Or am I living a life of passive faith?
So what do these thoughts of mine have to do with today’s verse? I believe that we must take advantage of certain times to turn our hearts back to the Lord. We need to be willing to take a critical look at our lives and see what is working, what is not, and what is getting in the way of our hearts belonging fully to God in absolute surrender.
Re-read the verse above. Here is what comes next: “Don’t tear your clothing in your grief, but tear your hearts instead. Return to the Lord your God, for he is merciful and compassionate, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. He is eager to relent and not punish. Who knows? Perhaps he will give you a reprieve, sending you a blessing instead of this curse. Perhaps you will be able to offer grain and wine to the Lord your God as before.”
I don’t believe that God wants us to be sad, weeping, or mournful…specifically. I believe he wants us to be increasingly aware of his Holiness, which should drive us to our knees. I believe that the more aware I am of how great God is, the less my to-do list for each day matters. More of Him, less of me. This seems like a great time to really look critically at my life and become willing to remove anything that might be getting in the way of my awareness of God’s greatness, goodness, power and grace. Maybe I need to fast in order to have that kind of discernment. Maybe I just need to be willing to ask those kinds of questions.
I pray that God will help us to see how much we need Him every moment of every day. I pray that we will see what might be getting in the way, and that by God’s power we will be willing to let those things go. I pray that our hearts will fully belong to God.
Journal Prompts
Answer only the questions that seem relevant to you today.
What blessings have you found during a time when things were radically different from “normal”?
Are you willing to look critically at your life, your schedule, your habits, your work, your relationships and see what is working well and what wasn’t? If so, what needs to be changed and what needs to be kept?
What is something that you’ve noticed has been a barrier for your heart to fully belong to God? What can you do about removing that barrier today?
How can you give your heart fully to God today? What would that look like?