Joel 2:12
“Therefore also now, saith the LORD, turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning:”
God is always the God of another chance. Like the father who took the prodigal son back after he wasted his living, so God is waiting for any Christian to come back to Him. We often hear that God will judge the sinner, and He will, but we must always remember that God is also a gracious and merciful God who would rather accept a Christian back and bless them than judge them. In the verse above, you will find what God is looking for in a person who is turning back to Him.
First, God wants you to turn back with “all your heart.” God is looking for the person to not just correct part of their ways, but all of their ways. One of the things that will tell you if a person is truly returning to the LORD is that they will try correcting everything they find wrong in their life. A true heart of repentance will find a person not just correcting the area in which they were caught, but correcting every area that is contrary to God’s ways. God is not interested in surface repentance that is only interested in putting on a performance. He is interested in a person sincerely wanting to be completely right with Him.
Second, God wants you to turn back your worship. Notice that not only did God talk about the heart, but He also talked about them turning to Him with “fasting.” In other words, God wants the person coming back to Him to deal with their pride. Fasting is always representative of total self-denial. When you are fasting, you are not giving your flesh what it desires to show God that you are willing to do away with all self pleasures for the sake of getting a need met. When a person truly turns back to God, they will not be boastful of what they are doing, but in humility they will deny their flesh and focus upon Him.
Third, God wants you to turn back your emotions. It says that they turned back to God with “weeping, and with mourning.” God not only wants your heart to be right, but He also wants your emotions to be right. It will be very evident when a person turns back to God because their attitude about serving the LORD will change. When a person is right with God, they will put their emotions into serving Him.
Fourth, God wants you to turn back your actions. In verse 13 it says, “And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the LORD your God…” When a person turns back to God, they will be willing to change everything that is wrong. Those things that led to turning away from God will be quickly stopped. A person who turns back to God will go the extra mile to avoid those things that led them into sin.
When should you turn back to God? Immediately! God says, “now” is the time to turn to Him. Why? Because He is a gracious and merciful God who will quickly bless you if you do right. My friend, don’t wait until you face God’s judgment to get right, instead get right as soon as He speaks to you about turning. Now is the time to turn away from those things that are displeasing to God, for the sooner you turn from those things the quicker you can experience the grace and mercy of God.