“Rip your heart to pieces [in sorrow and contrition] and not your garments.”
Now return [in repentance] to the Lord your God,
For He is gracious and compassionate,
Slow to anger, abounding in lovingkindness [faithful to His covenant with His people];
And He relents [His sentence of] evil [when His people genuinely repent].”
In school, there was always the one who protested everything from grades to being late to not being able to leave early. These people would make a big to-do out of almost everything, always in public for everyone to see. If you are a parent, then I am sure the loud cry at the grocery store after you have said “NO!” is all too familiar. Their public display was a message of want and a message of entitlement.
Joel was a prophet of God when Josiah, a seven-year-old, was king of Judah. The Lord sent a plague of locusts to get the attention of Judah, and Joel, through the Lord, uses this plague to teach the people about Him.
Things were not so good for the little tribe of Judah. The plague of locusts had pretty much destroyed every green thing, and life became hard. Food was hard to find, and when people got hungry, the hangryness came out. You may not be in a battle for everyday food, but your life has had some plaguing going on for sure. Disrupted plans, crazy drivers, mean people, horrible bosses, and bad family members all seem to put you in a state of public discourse, and you are just waiting for someone to ask you how your day is before you lay into them. Sound familiar?
Before you do, realize that the plague of locusts was from the Lord to get the attention of the people of Judah to return to Him. You see, the Lord can use whatever He wants to wake us up, like He did with locusts in the book of Joel. The key to getting through this is right in the text. The Lord says to rend your heart, not your garments, and return to Him. In other words, replace your heart of stone and bitterness with one after the Lord. Stop the public display of whining and complaining. Where did that get the Israelites in the desert? Forty more years in the desert.
If you are tired of where you are, it might be time to look at the condition of your heart and not your surroundings. Our verse says that the Lord loves it when you come back to Him. Today, take an inward look at how your outward response to life is. It may be time to rend your heart and not your garments.
Prayer: Father, it is time to tear my heart and return to You. It is time I return to You because You are merciful and compassionate, slow to anger and filled with unfailing love. I know you are eager to bring me in and surround me with love, not punishment. I want to be close to You, Lord, so rend my heart for You. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Let It Go 
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