“This is what the Lord says:
‘Turn to Me now, while there is time.
Give Me your hearts.
Come with fasting, weeping, and mourning.
Don’t tear your clothing in your grief,
but tear your hearts instead.’”
— Joel 2:12–13 (NLT)
Like most of us, this old dog has torn up a few things in his day.
A shoe or two.
Socks and towels.
Maybe even a couch cushion when I was younger.
And I’ve done some tearing up of some things outside too.
But the Lord isn’t impressed with torn fabric.
He’s after torn hearts.
Back in Joel’s day, the people had drifted.
They’d gotten comfortable. Comfortable in compromise. Comfortable in routine religion. Comfortable standing in shadows instead of standing in the Light.
And the Lord said, “Turn to Me… while there is time.”
That wasn’t just for them.
That’s for us.
Repent and stand anew with the Lord.
Now I don’t know much about city streets, but I do know about standing at crossroads. I’ve stood at the edge of the yard many a time—one path leads to chasing rabbits, the other leads back to my human’s porch.
Only one leads to rest.
The Lord is calling His people to stand in the Light—and with the Light. And that Light has a name: Jesus Christ
We’ve done enough hiding in the dark corners.
Enough whispering when we ought to be witnessing.
Enough dragging around bones from the past that He already buried.
It’s time to drop the past at His feet and let Him wash us anew.
Washed white as snow.
Washed clean not because we scrubbed harder—but because His mercy runs deeper.
The prophet said, “Return to the Lord your God, for He is merciful and compassionate, slow to anger and filled with unfailing love.”
That doesn’t sound like a God looking to crush you.
That sounds like a Father calling you home.
This old dog knows what it is to have a stronghold.
Something you keep going back to.
A habit.
A hurt.
A hidden thing.
And I also know I can’t chew my way out of it.
Only the Lord can break what binds us.
So what’s He putting His finger on in your life?
What needs to be surrendered?
What needs to be torn—not on the outside—but deep down in the heart?
Billy Graham once said, “The greatest need in the world is the transformation of human nature. We need a new heart that will not have lust and greed and hate in it. We need a heart filled with love and peace and joy, and that is why Jesus came into the world.”
And that’s exactly why Jesus came.
Not to patch the old heart.
Not to polish the old ways.
But to give us a new one.
It’s time to get on our knees in repentance… and then stand strong with the Lord.
Stand anew.
Stand in the Light.
Stand while there is time.
This old dog’s staying close to the Master’s feet these days.
Seems like the safest place to be.
Keep the Faith… Carpe Diem
