God Abounds In Love

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.
Joel 2:13

Ever sinned in spectacular fashion? Stubbornly? Blatantly? Willfully? Repeatedly? If so, you’ve no doubt experienced the heaviness of guilt. Here’s betting you also got well acquainted with shame and disgrace and condemnation.

Maybe you’re even in that place today. And maybe you’re keeping God at a safe distance, fearing you just might be a candidate for divine smiting.

Here’s good news from Joel. God says, “Come home.” God says, “Return to me.” The word return can also be translated “repent.” Repent simply means to turn around. It means to get off the wrong path and get back on the right one.

Notice God doesn’t want you to merely act sorry. He wants you to be sorry—by letting your whole heart be broken by the ugliness of your sin.

And if you do return? You’ll find God is gracious. He forgives. He abounds in love for you. Abounds means abundance. It means large amounts, lots, excess.

How about that? No matter how excessive your sin, it’s never as much as God’s love!

GOD’S PROMISE TO ME
• No matter what you’ve done, you can return to me.

• I am gracious and compassionate.

• I am slow to anger and abounding in love.

MY PRAYER TO GOD
Heavenly Father, thank you for this hard-to-believe promise: You abound in love. When I blow it, I can return to you and find compassion, not anger. Cause that truth to sink deeply into my heart.