Return to God Before It's Too Late
- meetgodattheedgeof
- Jun 29
- 3 min read
Joel 2:12-13
[12] That is why the Lord says, “Turn to me now, while there is time. Give me your hearts. Come with fasting, weeping, and mourning. [13] Don’t tear your clothing in your grief, but tear your hearts instead.” Return to the Lord your God, for he is merciful and compassionate, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. He is eager to relent and not punish.
One of the things you realize the closer your relationship with the Lord becomes is the seriousness of our sin. God wants us to take it seriously and deal with it as soon as possible.
One of the problems in our culture is that we fill our time with things that are not bad: work, cleaning the house, working on the car, house projects, and even serving at church or in ministry. We know these are not bad things. In fact, most of the time they are good and necessary! At least, that's what we tell ourselves. But if we are moving through our day without making personal time for the Lord, we are missing the point. Even serving at church or in ministry can become a problem if what the Lord desires most from you is no longer your main focus.
The Lord wants you—your heart, your best time, and your obedience! Without a personal relationship with your Heavenly Father, how long do you think you will last? Ministry, relationships, family, and work—all under your own power—will eventually overwhelm you. I am convinced this is one of the reasons we have seen people walk away from their ministry, their faith, and even the Lord after years of living that life. They forgot to maintain their first love. They began operating under their own strength, and it is simply not enough.
The only way we will continue in the Lord's work is to seek a better relationship with our Father each day. Each new day should be better than the last! Like it says in the verse above, the Lord is no longer interested in an outward show. That is meaningless. He wants to see our hearts torn open with genuine sorrow for our sin and true repentance, actually turning away from the things that distract us from Him. Return to God with your whole heart. Putting other things before the Lord is sin, and sin separates us from God.
We are called to turn away from things done in our own understanding and will and realign our hearts with God's. Return to God and run back to your Father's open arms!
The time you once poured into the things that distracted you from your relationship with the Lord, now use that time to seek Him and abide in Him first. A strong foundation is required for our life's calling, and that foundation begins when we return to God every single day.
Thank you, Father, for one more day. Amen.
Isaiah 44:21-23
[21] “Pay attention, O Jacob, for you are my servant, O Israel. I, the Lord, made you, and I will not forget you. [22] I have swept away your sins like a cloud. I have scattered your offenses like the morning mist. Oh, return to me, for I have paid the price to set you free.” [23] Sing, O heavens, for the Lord has done this wondrous thing. Shout for joy, O depths of the earth! Break into song, O mountains and forests and every tree! For the Lord has redeemed Jacob and is glorified in Israel. the Lord says, “Turn to me now, while there is time. Give me your hearts. Come with fasting, weeping, and mourning. [13] Don’t tear your clothing in your grief, but tear your hearts instead.” Return to the Lord your God, for he is merciful and compassionate, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. He is eager to relent and not punish.
