In my weekly email newsletter, I share one verse (or sometimes two) that I'm working to memorize. I usually just share the verse and a short thought, but there is so much in these verses I wanted to unpack a bit more.
Joel 2:12-13
"'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
A couple of things that stood out to me about this passage:
1- God is *continually* throughout Scripture calling His people to return. Whether you've been gone 5 years, 5 days, 5 minutes ago when you lost your temper, He is calling you to return to Him. He just wants you Home.
2. God is not interested in religious show. This is another through-line throughout Scripture. He condemns religious leaders who say and do the right things while their hearts are far away from Him (read Joel, Amos, Ezekiel, Isaiah, Hosea, and others). Jesus has a similar response to the religious leaders of His day, calling them white-washed tombs (see Matthew 23:27-28, and other places in the Gospels).
Is God against organized religion or leadership? Of course not.
I think the bigger theme here is that He wants the hearts and the actions of His people to match. He's more interested in your heart being turned toward Him and broken for the things that break His heart (rend your hearts) and He's less interested in things like perfect church attendance or loud wailing with no actual repentance or you saying all the right words at a prayer meeting when you don't mean it (not your garments).
If your heart is after His, your actions will follow. If your actions aren't following, see #1. You're invited to return.
3. God is continually reminding His people of *who He is*. I think one of the most important and most often missed parts of Scripture is that the Bible is the story of God and His people. It's about Him, and He invites people to be a part of His family.
That part in verse 13, reminding us "He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love..."? That's quoting Exodus 34:6, where God Himself tells Moses who He (God) is. This is who our God is. This is why we can return.
I don't always share this much about the verses I'm working to memorize, but these verses were pressing on my heart and I felt compelled to say more. Because of who God is, He invites us to return to Him, no matter how long we've been gone. He wants us to genuinely return, not just saying some pretty words to relieve your guilt or look good for others. The Lord is always after hearts.