Do you ever feel like everything in the world is against you? Like, no matter what you do, you'll never get it right? Like the cosmos knows all of the tricks, has an ace up its sleeve, and that there's no way you could possibly win?
I'm sure you've felt like that before. We all have. And so often, we think that what God wants from us is a longer checklist. That if we go to church more, tithe more, spend more time working at the soup kitchen, He will make our troubles pass. But God doesn't look at our outward actions. He doesn't care what our bodies do - He cares what our hearts do. "Rend your heart, and not your garments," says the Bible. In layman's terms, this basically means this: get your heart right with the Lord. He doesn't just want our money, our piety, or our time. He wants our heart, our soul....our everything.
Being right with the Lord does not guarantee that your life will be perfect. You will still have troubles and difficulties. But the beautiful thing about walking with the Lord is that, when He's by your side, your troubles seem so much smaller than they do when you are far apart from Him. So the next time your troubles are overwhelming you, check your heart. Are you walking next to Him, following in His footsteps? Or are you far away? Have you truly rended your heart, or simply your garments?
I'm sure you've felt like that before. We all have. And so often, we think that what God wants from us is a longer checklist. That if we go to church more, tithe more, spend more time working at the soup kitchen, He will make our troubles pass. But God doesn't look at our outward actions. He doesn't care what our bodies do - He cares what our hearts do. "Rend your heart, and not your garments," says the Bible. In layman's terms, this basically means this: get your heart right with the Lord. He doesn't just want our money, our piety, or our time. He wants our heart, our soul....our everything.
Being right with the Lord does not guarantee that your life will be perfect. You will still have troubles and difficulties. But the beautiful thing about walking with the Lord is that, when He's by your side, your troubles seem so much smaller than they do when you are far apart from Him. So the next time your troubles are overwhelming you, check your heart. Are you walking next to Him, following in His footsteps? Or are you far away? Have you truly rended your heart, or simply your garments?
Joel 2:12-13
12 "Even now," declares the LORD, "return to me with all your heart, with fasting and mourning." 13 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.
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