Day 11: Turn Back to the Compassionate One Today's reading is drawn from Joel 2:12-27. CALAMITY HAS A WAY OF getting our attention. We wander from God, we walk our own way, and then we begin to reap the consequences. Then, when calamity comes upon us, we immediately start thinking, Could God be in this? Indeed, it is likely that He is calling us to turn back to Him. Sometimes, though, people don’t turn back and repent. I find three common excuses people give for this. The first excuse is, “It’s too late! I’ve gone too far.” You’ll hear this from people who have walked far away from God. These people believe that they have sinned too much or for too long. Sometimes we ourselves say of people, “That’s it. You’ve gone too far. I can’t forgive you anymore.” But God’s grace is greater than our weakness. He says, “Turn to me now, while there is time” (Joel 2:12). The second excuse people give is, “I’ve tried all that before.” The person who says this has already prayed a prayer or walked to the front of a church during an altar call. God says, “Don’t tear your clothing in your grief, but tear your hearts instead” (Joel 2:13). Go right to your heart and deal deeply with it, as if for the very first time. Maybe what you did before was only a garment rending. The third excuse people give is, “God is through with me! He’s completely written me off.” But Joel says, “He is merciful and compassionate, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. He is eager to relent and not punish” (Joel 2:13; see also Exod. 34:6; Num. 14:18; 2 Chr. 30:9; Neh. 9:17; Jon. 4:2). Never think that God is through with you. Remember God’s character. If you have walked away from Him—even if it’s been years—hear this message. A little later in this passage, we read a high note of hope: If we will sincerely repent (Joel 2:13-14), God will be moved with pity and mercy (Joel 2:18), and He will restore all that the locusts have destroyed (Joel 2:25). He will repair the damaging consequences of sin. This is one of the great hidden principles in the Bible that I’ve rarely heard anyone ever read or quote. God wants to restore what you have allowed to be destroyed because of your stubbornness, pride, resistance, deaf ear, or hard heart. Maybe you feel like saying, “My life has been barren. I’ve had one affliction after another because I’ve been walking away from—not walking with—the Lord I claim to know and once loved.” Then these thoughts lead to their logical extreme, and you may be tempted to say, “I am finished. God is through with me. I’ll never experience His blessings again. Relief will never come.” If you’ve felt this way, you need the truth of Joel 2:25: God can give you back all that you have lost. Will you repent? When God restores the afflicted, He does so abundantly. Some of the most tender people I know were some of the most hardened a few months ago. Some of the most grateful Christians you will ever meet are the ones who were living in shameful carnality a few years ago. Life for you right now may be life in the locust field—broken, empty, desolate, dark, lonely, ridden with guilt. The message that God speaks for you through Joel is, “It’s never too late to start doing what is right. Start now. Turn around.” [call out text: God wants to restore what you have allowed to be destroyed.] | 
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