rend your heart unto the merciful God

Joel 2:13 And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the Lordyour God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil.

If you read Joel 2, you almost get scared inside. The day of the Lord is coming, which is indicated in this section. And before that day comes, must flee all the enemies of God, they will not know where to hide. There will be an immense fire over the earth and destroy everything, and there will be a total chaos. This, we can put next to Revelations, because such events are also described in Revelations. So it's not just about that time, but today is also reality. This warning also counts now.

But then in verse 12 sounds suddenly the call to conversion and is personally made in verse 13. Rend your hearts and not your clothes. How many people we see do not metaphorically rend their clothes. They say they belong to God, but live totally not that way. Other people live according to Biblical law, but is all for the outside and not by heart. They do not repent of their sins, they do not surrender to Christ.This is a wake up call! Convert your heart, we all have to put ourselves to the light of the Bible is my repentance real? Do I sorrow of my sins? Do I really belong to Jesus?

Repent unto the Lord your God, for He is gracious and merciful, patient and rich in mercy. Here we are told that it is not a certain God, but your God. He is your God, he knows you since childhood and he has given you as a child his blessing. And all the while, until now, he did not break His promise. It is your God! And you must repent of your wrong things, repent of your inner sins, and not continue in sin. Christ has gone for those sins on the cross, but he is not worth that we continue to sin. He wants us to clean life.

And God will always take us in grace when we repent. For He is merciful and patient. He knows us and knows how we people are. God is patient with us, and that means that he knows us. He punishes us not directly for the sin, but give us time to repent. He is rich in mercy. His love goes so far that even His Son on the cross was to die for sin. To bear the punishment of the people and to wash them clean in this way from all unrighteousness. And as God is merciful, because we have not earned grace. It's all for nothing, all out of love and it all comes only from His side.

Then you and I must confess: I bow down before God and worship Him. I confess not only with my tongue that He is the Lord, but I also want to convert my heart. Lord, please wash me completely and let me focus on Thee. My eyes are often obscured, so I do not always see you. But when you call me in this way to draw my eye unto you, then this shows again Your inexhaustible source of love.

Make me pure for you, as pure gold and pure silver!