Joel 2:13
“And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the LORD your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil.”
A disturbing trend happened in Israel, the trend was they performed all the spiritual events they were supposed to perform, but they became a ritual. Often, when they humbled themselves to God, they wore sackcloth. At times they would literally tear their garments off when they felt so convicted and humbled because of their sin. Sadly, these actions became a ritual. That is why God said, “And rend your heart, and not your garments,…” God did not want them going through the motions of getting right, but He preferred that their heart was truly torn over their sin. God was weary with the motions these people performed, and though their motions may have made them look good to their peers, God saw them and realized these people were merely going through the motions.
One of the biggest things you will have to guard against in your Christian life is that your Christianity doesn’t become a ritual. We can learn the Christian life so well that we simply go through the motions. At the writing of this devotional I have been saved for over forty years. I constantly have to make sure that I’m not simply going through the motions. I have to make sure that my heart is involved in what I’m doing. I realize, and so should you, that God wants our whole being to be involved in our service to Him.
Not having your attention on what you’re doing for God is an indicator that you are going through the motions. Another indicator that you’re going through the motions is that you feel you have to do something because it is required. Your Christianity isn’t something that your heart motivates you to do, but your Christianity is something you do out of obligation. If you’re not careful, your Christianity will become nothing more than a penance you feel you must pay to stay spiritual. God doesn’t desire this type of Christianity, but He desires a Christianity that is from the heart.
Let me ask you, are you simply going through the motions? Does your time in the Scriptures stir your heart, or is it simply a time you have to get done so that you feel spiritual that day? Is your time in prayer a time when you look forward to spending time with the LORD, or is it a hit and miss activity that you “have” to do so that you look and feel spiritual? How about church attendance and soul winning; are these activities something you do because you have to do them to show others you’re not backslidden?
Christian, God does not desire for you to go through the motions. He truly wants you to get your heart involved in what you do for Him. Sin will cause you to go through the motions. Familiarity with what you do will cause you to go through the motions. If you’re not careful, you will train your flesh to do right, and you will do right through your flesh and not through the power of the Holy Spirit of God.
I challenge you to take an honest look at what you do for God and be sure that you are not going through the motions. If you find yourself going through the motions, it is time to get alone and truly tell God what is going on. Ask God to reveal to you what is causing you to go through the motions, and when He reveals it to you, you need to remove that thing so that your heart is involved in all that you do for God.