God once punished the waywardness of his people in a way that reverberated for generations—an invasion of locusts. What the locust swarm has left the great locusts have eaten; what the great locusts have left the young locusts have eaten; what the young locusts have left the other locusts have eaten. The insect scourge horsewhipped those ignoring the Lord.

God, however, left an open passage back to him. 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, for he relents from sending calamity.

True contrition—a change in heart—gains the Lord’s attention. In stories throughout the Bible God responded to a broken spirit, or a submissive request for forgiveness, with mercy and love. This despite heinous crimes on the part of those returning to the Lord (think of David following the murder of Uriah).

The humble plea Lord have mercy on me, a sinner, resonates through the heavens. If you truly mean it, it’s never too late to pray it.

Joel 2 in Through the Bible in 2024

Photo by Massimiliano Sarno