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Even now…
Jeff WeinkaufJoel 2:12-13
12“Even now,” declares the Lord, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning.”
13Rend 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.
The people of God were about to get it right between the eyes.
Like a lot of us, they’d done it again. Made bad choices, selfish choices, sinful choices.
It was time to pay the consequences. Verse 1-11 makes it clear what’s about to occur, the second half of verse 1 declares the timing.
Let all who live in the land tremble, for the day of the Lord is coming. It is close at hand—
The magnitude of what was about to happen is hard to ignore.Even more, what could STILL happen is quite stunning.That’s the part where “even now” comes into play.
“Even now” means that right up until the hammer falls a true heart of repentance will be received by God. “Even now” is how God operates. It is grace extended (although underserved).
So although God’s people were weighed and found lacking, and righteous judgment was immanent, EVEN NOW...God provided/provides a pathway to reconciliation.
That’s amazing. That’s our God. “He is for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity.”
The application is that there is always room for true repentance. Verse 13 is careful to remind us that it’s a heart issue. It’s one thing to express repentance outwardly but God knows the heart. Torn clothes are not enough God wants my heart reconciled to Him.
God help me to remember that as long as there is breath in my lungs it is never too late to be restored to you. Help me never to believe that there is too much water under the bridge for you to respond to a truly repentant heart. Thank you God for gracious and compassionalte example. Amen
