REND

I am in the midst of Spring Cleaning, so cleaning - good, thorough scrubbing - is on my mind. That is why the following verse stood out to me as I read the book of Joel this morning (it's a whole three chapters and worth the read!).

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

I often think in terms of cleaning my heart, even spring cleaning it, but the use of the word rend speaks to me more than just a simple cleaning. We know that Jesus Christ, by His blood shed on the cross, washes our hearts clean from sin. But what is this rending? I believe it is speaking of the Holy Spirit's sanctification of our lives. It is a deep scrubbing, to the point of tearing, of the heart. Rending. It is the type of cleaning that sometimes hurts. It's the type of cleaning that is necessary if we are to become holy vessels for God's Work. It's the type of cleaning that may require change - change of attitude, change of habit, change of lifestyle.

Are you going through this type of rending of your heart? Praise Him! He is perfecting you! I encourage you today to stay strong through the things in your life that you may be going through and to use them to rend your heart and return you to the Lord your God. And if you have been through these types of trials and are now on the other side, then Joel has a word for you as well!

Has anything like this ever happened in your days or in the days of your ancestors? Tell it to your children, and let your children tell it to their children, and their children to the next generation. --Joel 1:2b-3

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