Rend My Heart

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. Joel 2.13.

There is an alarming rise in the incidence of ‘superficiality in spiritual things’ in our churches that frightens devout leaders and believers too! It was very much so in the days of Joel, the prophet amidst the ancient people of God, Israel.

When God spoke to them through Joel and condemned them for their sins, they responded only with a ‘superficial conviction and repentance’. According to their custom, they ‘rend’ their clothes, which was the usual manner of expressing sorrow. God saw through the veneer of their external attitudes and recognised what was in their hearts. Through Joel, God accused them of their hypocrisy and insincerity. He told them in stern words, “Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the LORD your God”.

What about you and I today? Are we ‘playing church and religion’ like the old Israelites? The other Sunday during a solemn church worship, there was a young couple, married or not I don’t know, who were hugging, cuddling and caressing all the time, disturbing those around them! It is not a few who answer their phones loudly or send SMS unashamedly during the service. Talking to one another and joking while singing songs are very common among the youth. There are adults who pay no attention to the preaching or simply sleep and snore even! Many are those who ‘hear but do not hear’ so that their minds are blank and the Word does not benefit them!

There are times when you and I raise our voice or hands when we pray but we do it out of practice or in our eagerness to impress others! There are those who ‘lightly’ practice slaying people or ‘making them fall’ to the ground. There are people who make it a habit to ‘fall at any suggestion’ but without any spiritual or physical effect whatsoever! Some capitalize on prophesying because there are always those who hunger for a ‘word from the Lord’ whether they take note of it and obey it or not! We engage in speaking in tongues in a very glib manner not realising that it is a divine manner of conversing with the Lord.

Thank God there is still a good number who worship the Lord in spirit and truth. One would find here and there sincere souls shedding tears as they sing with the joy of the Spirit. However, observing the spiritual stage of today, it is time for you and I to hear afresh what Joel had to say to Israel, “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. Who knows? He may turn and have pity and leave behind a blessing”. There is calamity everywhere, even in our own lands! It is God’s megaphone to call us to attention to Him!

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, forgive me for the times when I am like the Israelites, rending my clothes but not my heart. You look at the heart. Make me honest and sincere in my heart in all that I do in Your presence. Amen.