Even Now!

"Even now, declares the Lord, return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning."
Joel 2:12


There is nothing greater than spending time with Jesus. I do that everyday, but this morning was special. I have had the above verse on my mind for two days. As I spent time praying this morning, it came up again. I have always appreciated the book of Joel. It tells us that God is going to pour out his Spirit in the last days. We are going to hear prophetic words from kids, hear of dreams from old men, and hear of the visions of the young. What a wonderful word of encouragement for us. But it seems to me there is a prerequisite. We must return to the Lord with all our hearts.
    Humans, in general, seem to be prone to wander. Most people have a desire to see the world, experience new things, and find out all the information they can about the world they live in. As Christians, we are sometimes prone to wander as well. The problem is; that wandering often leads us away from Jesus and onto rabbit trails that have absolutely no eternal value. I think that all of us, from time to time, have to take the advice of the prophet, Joel, and return to the Lord with all our hearts. We wander and we have to get ourselves centered again with the main thing; Jesus.
    But, I am hearing something on a little higher level this time around. I am struck by the words of the prophet, "EVEN NOW, declares the Lord." There is an urgency. There is no time to think about whether we will or won't, no time to continue on the rabbit trails of the world. There is no time to be caught up in the religious. It is time to seek the Lord. The next verse in Joel tells us that we are to rend our hearts. This literally means that we are to tear open our hearts before God.
    So, I am doing exactly what God commanded through Joel. I am returning with all my heart. I have torn it open and shown him things in my heart that I have never allowed to come to the surface before. There is a time to do this. Solomon said there is a time for everything. I know that the time to return to the Lord and rend our hearts is now...Even now!