17 Rend Your Hearts
During Bible times, when people experienced anger, grief, or despair, the custom of “tearing garments” as an outward sign of their inward state was a common ceremonial ritual. In light of this practice, the Lord instructs His children to “rend your hearts and not your garments.” To rend means “to tear open” our hearts and look honestly at our inner man. Looking takes courage and belief that God’s faithful love toward us is bigger than all our negative emotions. Then, as we accept the truth that God is gracious, merciful, slow to anger, and full of loving-kindness, we will be able to own our anger, grief, or despair without fear of being rejected or punished by God. Subsequently, as we pray and process through our hearts’ emotions, we will be able to feel and release our layered anger, grief, and despair-good, bad, or ugly- to our loving, caring Lord. When we learn to keep returning to the Lord with our overwhelmed hearts, we will begin to experience more calm in place of anger, joy in place of grief, and hope in place of despair. It is God’s desire to help our hearts and to bring more and more healing into our lives.
“Rend your hearts and not your garments and return to the Lord, your God, for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in loving-kindness” (Joel 2:13a).
