Scripture Reading: Joel 2:1-2, 12-17
Focus on the Word
The people of Israel had been unfaithful. They had drifted away from their God. Judgment was imminent. Before we point our fingers at them, however, and ask, “How could you do this?” let’s remember that we, too, are human and capable of drifting. Before we reprimand them let’s remember that God’s response to them was, “Return to Me with all your heart, and with fasting, weeping and mourning” (Joel 2:12, NASB).
Lent is a season to look inward, to hear what God is saying to us. It is a time to examine our hearts to see what is in them. It is a time of inward honesty, a time to be true to ourselves and to our God, and a time to confess that we have not arrived and that we do desperately need God daily. In our weeping and mourning we need to remember that our God “is merciful and compassionate, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love and is eager to relent and not punish” (Joel 2:139, NLT).
To be out of fellowship with God is a brutal reality. But, God is not about judgment. He is about restoration. Draw near to God. It is the safest place in the entire world to be.
Today’s Prayer
Our Father in heaven,
may your name be kept holy.
May your Kingdom come soon.
May your will be done on earth,
as it is in heaven.
Give us today the food we need,
and forgive us our sins,
as we have forgiven those who sin against us.
And don’t let us yield to temptation,
but rescue us from the evil one.
(Based on Matthew 6:9-13,NLT)
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