Returning To The Lord
Returning to the Lord || Joel 2:12–13 (NRSVUE) || Jan Bolton
“Yet even now,” says the Lord, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; rend your hearts and not your clothing. Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from punishment.”
When I read this passage, I’m struck by how tender God’s invitation really is. He isn’t pushing us away or pointing out our failures with a harsh hand. He’s calling us back — gently, patiently — because He loves us and wants us close. He sees every shortcoming, every stumble, every moment we wish we could take back… and He understands.
Psalm 100:3 reminds us, “Know that the LORD is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people and the sheep of his pasture.” That image always gets me. Sheep don’t impress the shepherd with fancy behavior. They just belong to him. And he cares for them because they’re his.
God isn’t looking for an outward performance from us — not the “right” words, not the perfect image, not a show for the world. He wants the real us. The honest us. The heart that’s willing to say, “Lord, I need You.”
And I’ll be the first to admit it: I fall short every single day. In what I do, in what I fail to do, in the things I recognize and the things I don’t even see. That’s why my daily prayer echoes Psalm 51:10: “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me.”
This Lenten season, I’m joining my community in coming before God with humility and a truly repentant heart. Not just going through the motions, but letting Him do the deep work inside — the kind that transforms us from the inside out.
My hope is that God sees in us not just ritual, but genuine longing. Not just words, but a heart turning back toward Him. A heart ready to be renewed.
Prayer – Gracious and Merciful God, as we walk through this Lenten season, teach us to return not just in ritual, but in truth — with humility, with longing, with a desire to be made new. In the name of Jesus, Amen.
When I read this passage, I’m struck by how tender God’s invitation really is. He isn’t pushing us away or pointing out our failures with a harsh hand. He’s calling us back — gently, patiently — because He loves us and wants us close. He sees every shortcoming, every stumble, every moment we wish we could take back… and He understands.
Psalm 100:3 reminds us, “Know that the LORD is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people and the sheep of his pasture.” That image always gets me. Sheep don’t impress the shepherd with fancy behavior. They just belong to him. And he cares for them because they’re his.
God isn’t looking for an outward performance from us — not the “right” words, not the perfect image, not a show for the world. He wants the real us. The honest us. The heart that’s willing to say, “Lord, I need You.”
And I’ll be the first to admit it: I fall short every single day. In what I do, in what I fail to do, in the things I recognize and the things I don’t even see. That’s why my daily prayer echoes Psalm 51:10: “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me.”
This Lenten season, I’m joining my community in coming before God with humility and a truly repentant heart. Not just going through the motions, but letting Him do the deep work inside — the kind that transforms us from the inside out.
My hope is that God sees in us not just ritual, but genuine longing. Not just words, but a heart turning back toward Him. A heart ready to be renewed.
Prayer – Gracious and Merciful God, as we walk through this Lenten season, teach us to return not just in ritual, but in truth — with humility, with longing, with a desire to be made new. In the name of Jesus, Amen.
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