Joel: Part 2 (Rament)

May the strength of our LORD Jesus be with you this Saturday morning (or whenever these words find you). If you have not read my initial entry on Joel, you can find it here. While there are many more things to unpack in the book of Joel, during my last reading I felt the nudge to step back for a wider view to see some basic themes streaming through the book.

Last week I discussed the idea of lamenting, and today we turn to repenting. As mentioned, there are many facets of these beautiful truths, but for my meditation, and from the book itself, there is one that is a good candidate for meditation this morning.

“Yet even now,” declares the LORD,

“return to me with all your heart,

with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning;

  and rend your hearts and not your garments.”

Return to the LORD your God,

for he is gracious and merciful,

slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love;

and he relents over disaster. (Joel 2:12–13 ESV)

For some of you reading this, this verse may seem very familiar; for some not. For some reading this you can immediately understand the context of what is meant here by rending a garment; for some not. For some reading this, you can connect very quickly the concept of repenting in this passage to the multiple calls to return.

Yet may either reader pause with me as we take but a moment to center and remind ourselves of these truths.

In full disclosure, as I write these words, I don't feel like writing these words all that much! Many things could describe the way I have been feeling lately; but one that I'll share that fits with where my heart needs some 'rending' is in my sin of discontentment.

In a nutshell, at the time, 'rending' your clothes/garment/robe was simply tearing it as a sign of mourning, grief, conviction of sin (yours or even communal). However while outward signs and displays in themselves are fine, and can even serve a communal purpose, if that is where it stops, it's hypocrisy. Showing outward grief, without inward conviction, is empty ... well ... worse than empty. This verse clearly comes to mind:

For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death. (2 Corinthians 7:10 ESV)

Thus simply, and hopefully obviously, words and outward displays matter little if the heart is not bent toward repentance (which essentially is turning away from one thing, in this case sin, and turning towards - or returning - to another, in this case, the LORD).

I do want to take a brief moment to carefully express that this easily could be twisted into constantly feeling like we are unsure of where we stand with God, or can lose our relationship with the LORD, and thus our salvation. In no way am I implying that a child of God, called and saved through the precious blood of Christ, could somehow be pulled in and out of salvation by our works (like some comedic actor on stage getting pulled back and forth by two 'hooks' to pull them on and off stage).

If you do not know the LORD however, and have not put your faith and trust in what He accomplished on the cross, and somehow put your hope in the fact that you are not that bad of a person, and since God is loving, you are good - then indeed take warning. This is not the path to life.

Repentance, turning away from our sin, and returning to the LORD, is a daily (at least!) action. And that is what I'm simply wanting to draw our hearts to - where in our lives (or mine) am I wandering? Where do we need to stop yet again, call out to God, confess our wandering and sin, and return to Him, our fountain and only source of true life in this world and for the next.

Along with prayer, and His Word, a couple books I have been reading have been ministering to me a great deal. One is The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment (by the Puritan Jeremiah Burroughs), in particular this updated translation is done beautifully! Also, When God Doesn't Fix It (by Laura Story).

For me, this is on my heart. If I were to open up and share all the various challenges going on in my life (in many areas of my life) I would likely get sympathy (at least on the surface). So would you ... so would all of us. Each of us is walking through trials that can (and often do) cause us to stop and sit in the pity party of despair, hopelessness, and uncertainty.

Yet even now says the LORD ... Return.

For the first time ... or for the 100th time ... return.

He is gracious, merciful, and abounding in love.

This is Who waits for you ... each moment of each day.

Sometimes in my flesh I have this aspiration of spending time with Him in prayer or reading His Word, but I think "let me just decompress for a moment first" and grab my phone. I deceive myself that I just need to "chill for a second" because after all I want to give God my best, and I'm not quite in that frame of mind yet. Really, Matt? "HE" is peace, my 'decompression' ... the only One capable of really allowing me to "chill out" as He is the only true source of refreshment.

A bit longer of an entry, but as always, I do this primarily to help me meditate on these needed truths myself, as writing helps me remember - and remembering Him is what I need most.

May Christ be with you.

His,
~Matthew