"Even now," declares the LORD,
"return to me with all your heart,
with fasting and weeping and mourning."
Rend your heart
and not your garments.
Return to the LORD your God,
for he is gracious and compassionate,
slow to anger and abounding in love,
and he relents from sending calamity.
(Joel 2:12-13)
Originally when I read this passage, I thought of all my friends in town who are so lost and far from God. Many times I felt discouraged even through prayer because it seemed like nothing was changing. I wanted to share this passage specifically to my friends and let them know that it is never too late to repent and come back to God; that all they have to do is confess and truly desire to change. Then I read the passage over and this time applied it to myself. There are times when I feel like I'm starting to drift away from His grip. My mind begins to wander away and I constantly find myself trying to pull myself back to Him. I still struggle with sins daily especially within my own thoughts. Sometimes, I swear I can hear Satan's voice in the back of my head telling me how to think (mostly negative thoughts). But God knows this. He knows that we will always fall short; but it's the perseverence and our strive to cling on to Him that He is looking for in our hearts. He is "slow to anger and abounding in love", all He asks of us is to admit to our mistakes and seek Him for forgiveness. How many people do we know who could forgive all our mistakes and wrongdoings without getting fed up with us? No one but You, O Lord.
