"Return to the Lord"

“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)

In the Book of Joel, the prophet warns of God's coming wrath against sinners. Joel also reminds us that redemption is found in the Lord. Joel also speaks of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on believers. All important truths that are a part of the Gospel that is Jesus Christ.

Through Joel, God told Israel to repent. To do what God demands. God tells Israel to give their hearts to Him by fasting, mourning, and weeping. Essentially, recognize your sins and how truly offensive they are to an all-holy God and repent prostrate before Him. It is a reminder that we need a Savior. God is reminding Israel how truly debased they are and to return to Him and be forgiven.

God also pronounces His nature in verse 13, which you may have read before. It is very similar to the Words God spoke to Moses on Sinai as God walked past him. "The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness (Exodus 34:6). They are the words Jonah spoke back to the Lord in Jonah 4:2, “And he prayed to the Lord and said, 'O Lord, is not this what I said when I was yet in my country? That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish; for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and are lenient from disaster.’” The psalmists use similar words in Psalms 86:15, 103:8, 145:8, and elsewhere. I love how the inerrancy of the Bible is shown in the consistency of scripture written hundreds of years apart.

One only needs to understand the depth of their sin to understand they need a Savior. We, humans, are unable to save ourselves from our sins and achieve salvation before God. It is impossible, and it is the great lie of all works-based religions. Many times, instead of praying for someone’s salvation, I pray that they will recognize the depth of their sin. When you come to this realization, the weight of your sin will crush you, and you will be unable to bear that weight. It is then that many turn to God.

We cannot run from God. We learned that from Jonah. Adam and Eve attempted to hide from God after disobedience, and others like Elijah, who ran because of his depression at the sight of Israel's disobedience, try to run for other reasons. If God calls you, there is no running. He planned your life before time, and if you are His elect, you will be His in salvation.

In Acts 2, Peter preached that the end times spoken of by Joel had already occurred (2:16-21). For believers having received salvation through faith in Christ, God’s end-time judgment was carried out on the cross. It is those who reject God who will live in the end times or in the pit of destruction for eternity. It is through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit that we are enabled to believe, but also to strive to live a gospel based life, convicting us of our sins and restoring us in our repentance.

Is God calling you? Have you been trying to run from the one who is inescapable? Do not be like Jonah; turn your face to God, and you will see He has turned His face to you. Seek Christ, seek salvation through faith in Him and His finished work on the cross. In Him there is life, and it is only through Him that one will stand inside the gates of heaven.

Grace and Peace