May 12th, 2022

Don't Be So Hard on Yourself

Joel 2:13 NIV

"Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity."

      Have you ever messed up at some point in your life, and someone says to you, "Don't be so hard on yourself"? And you just sit there and wonder, "How can I not be hard on myself right now?" If you're anything like me, you beat yourself up over some of the smallest of things. In all honesty, it can be hard not to! Especially in a moment when you know down in your heart that you knew better and could've prevented the situation, whether you opened your mouth and said something when you shouldn't have or you acted in a way that doesn't align with your values. In ancient times, people would tear their garments as an expression of their grief. Often, we see this in the Bible when someone is battling with some deep regret for a sin they have committed.

      However, in the book of Joel, we see a new idea suggested. One that would give life to the New Covenant that the people of Israel would see as a result of the coming Messiah. The scripture suggests that, instead of tearing (or rending) our garments, we should rend our hearts. Rather than expressing our grief outwardly, we should do it from within through repentance. It's one thing to show our emotions on the outside, but such ways are useless when we don't change on the inside. Now, when we choose to repent, we must remember that we shouldn't be so hard on ourselves because God's love for us is compassionate and forgiving, even if we can't be. He doesn't get angry with us but understands that we are his children, though we may not be perfect. And just as a parent's love for their child is never-ending, His love for us is unfathomable. Because of his love for us, He sent His only Son to die on the cross and take the punishment for our sins on our behalf. What an amazing love, am I right? As a result, through our repentance and the changing of our hearts, we are exempt from the punishment that we see in the Old Covenant.

How do you express your remorse? What changes can be made in order to accept God's grace even when it's hard?