“Yet even now,” declares the LORD, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; and rend your hearts and not your garments.” Return to the LORD your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love; and he relents over disaster.
Joel 2:12-13, ESV
Having worked with addicts and people that have been jailed. I have witnessed people change and express a strong faith, thanking God for all that He has done for them, only to go back to the way they once were and sometimes worse than before. What happened? Like the people of ancient times, they were changed for the moment, and so long as they were under the guidance of another, they were truly seeking to make things right. The issue was their hearts. God keeps the door open for them, and He does for us, too. He waits patiently, seeking to change not only our lives but our hearts.
Let us pray. I thank you, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, your dear Son, that you have kept me this night from all harm and danger, and I ask you to protect me this day also from sin and every evil, that in all I do today, I may please you. For into your hands, I commend myself, my body and soul, and all that is mine. Let your holy angel watch over me, that the wicked foe have no power over me. Amen.