Living Outloud: Rend Your Heart

We explore Joel’s call to “tear your hearts, not just your garments,” challenging the quiet ways we perform spirituality without surrender. Practical examples, honest self-checks, and hope rooted in God’s mercy guide us toward real repentance and daily change.

• context for rending garments and why it mattered 
• modern versions of outward piety without inner change 
• social media confession vs private obedience 
• saying I’ll pray about it without praying 
• church service as avoidance of conviction 
• apology patterns that deflect responsibility 
• dramatic altar moments vs daily discipleship 
• confession that leads to transformation 
• Joel’s vision of mercy, reprieve, and return 
• fasting, weeping, mourning as honest response

Take this conversation and not just nod and agree, but really lean into what God may be speaking to you about right now

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Chapters

• 0:00 Welcome, Prayer, And Joel’s Focus
• 2:46 “Rend Your Hearts” In Ancient Context
• 6:31 Outward Signs Vs Inner Surrender
• 10:46 When Conviction Hurts Or Numbs
• 14:21 Public Gestures Without Private Change
• 18:31 Church Activity That Masks Avoidance
• 22:46 Hollow Apologies And Spiritual Deflection
• 26:21 Busyness, Plans, And Dodging Obedience

Transcript

Welcome, Prayer, And Joel’s Focus

SPEAKER_00 0:11

Hey, this is another episode of Living Out Loud, one of the segments of Out Loud Bible Project Podcast, where we take a look at what we read earlier in the week and we talk about how to actually do what the Bible says. This is Mike, and Kelsey's with me today. Hello. Kelsey has her own microphone. She is laying on a couch, taking it easy, not pushing herself too much. Uh, but we got the microphone set up. She's able to join us in this conversation. I'm thankful for that.

SPEAKER_01 0:35

Yeah, I'm really grateful to be back in this.

SPEAKER_00 0:38

On a long road of recovery from a back in injury, I guess it's technically an injury.

SPEAKER_01 0:44

Perniated disc.

SPEAKER_00 0:45

Perniated disc. Uh, and so long road of recovery, but so far, so good. Looking up, had a good procedure, moving on, and uh, we get to have a conversation together. So uh, you know, we actually always start praying, like the two of us will pray before we start recording an episode. I say always, sometimes we don't, and we get into it, and we're like three minutes into it and we just feel jumbled, and it's usually me and that feels a mess, yeah. It's usually a mess. And Kelsey's like, wait, did we pray? No, okay, hold on. And then we go back and pray. So, and we did before recording this, but uh, I think I'd I'd like to just start this episode by praying while we record here, so our friend listening can just be in on this conversation with us. Uh so God, thank you for your word. Thank you for the ability to understand it, and in doing so, we get to know about you. It's just we only can know about you because you allow us to. If you didn't want us to, then we would have no chance. Uh, but thank you for this uh this Bible and uh thank you specifically for the book of Joel here that we're gonna be talking about today and what you reveal uh in about yourself through it. I pray that you'd guide us into um saying some things and discovering some things that are valuable to somebody that that uh you would delight in the appointments that you have through this conversation today, and we give you the glory for it. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen.

SPEAKER_01 2:04

Amen.

“Rend Your Hearts” In Ancient Context

SPEAKER_00 2:05

It's good before you get into the Bible just to pray. If you're gonna even just you're just reading it yourself, just pray. Like, God, what do you what would you like us what would you like me to hear or know, or uh help me to learn more about you? That's just a good good practice when you get into the word. Um so we started just this week on the book of Joel as we kind of are going through the minor prophets now. Uh not that it's the first as it appears in the Bible, but it chronologically roughly toward the beginning. So we're gonna go with that. And uh the verse that really it's one of the just capstone verses of the book of Joel is 212, where God says, tear your hearts or rend in one of the older versions, rend your hearts, not just your garments. And God's call to repentance, which is a common theme throughout all the major prophets, the minor prophets, God's heart is truly for repentance. Um, but I want to zoom in on this verse because it in one sense it's it doesn't it's kind of a foreign concept. Today, modern times, especially especially in our modern American culture and other, you know, first world country cultures, uh, there's not a whole lot of rending your garments. There's not a whole lot of tearing garments.

SPEAKER_01 3:20

Nor do we really know even what the word render is we don't use that word. Mike, the NLT translation, um, I like how it phrases it. It kind of gives us more context around what it means. So the NLT says, don't tear your clothing in your grief, but tear your hearts instead. So kind of giving that context of tearing their garments, rending their garments in that culture in that day was you hear terrible news, something should be breaking your heart. So you rip your clothes. Yeah. You just tear your clothes at the seams.

SPEAKER_00 3:53

Is that what it means to be terrible news? You tear your clothes?

SPEAKER_01 3:58

No, it's spelled completely different.

SPEAKER_00 3:59

Fake etymology. Okay. I just thought maybe I was on to something.

SPEAKER_01 4:03

No, maybe it's a pun, but not reality.

SPEAKER_00 4:07

But yeah, so you're saying the in that time it was very common when you and you see it throughout the Bible. You see kings, you see prophets, you see common people tearing their clothes when they hear terrible news. Something bad happens. Job, he tore his clothes when he got all the bad news. Sometimes there's often when like the book of the law was read for the first time in a while, and and they realized, like, oh my goodness, we've we're so far from the heart of God here. Like, we need like, ah, tear my clothes. I it's a sign of humility too, you know.

SPEAKER_01 4:36

And it's that outward sign of what should be happening in their hearts.

SPEAKER_00 4:40

Yes. But of course, God knows the heart, and he identified here with his people through the prophet Joel, and I would imagine elsewhere throughout the Bible, although it's not necessarily called out for us all the time, uh, God identifies this this time of tearing your their garments, but it it didn't come from a place of a torn, broken, repentant heart.

SPEAKER_01 5:06

Right.

SPEAKER_00 5:07

And and it it God isn't saying don't tear your garments. It's like He's not saying tear your hearts instead of your garments. He's just saying, look, your outward expression of repentance and humility, okay. Just make sure that it's not instead of your heart coming from your heart, you know?

SPEAKER_01 5:28

Um let that outward expression be an outward expression of what's happening inward and not outward expression only.

SPEAKER_00 5:37

Because that would uh i i it's easy. It's easy to put on a display so that other people can y think what you want them to think about you.

SPEAKER_01 5:47

Yeah, and it's it's easy to fall into the cultural expectations of how you should respond, how you should act when in grief or when you hear bad news. Like there's there's cultural expectations that you can fall into, even though your heart isn't really in it, but you want to you want to look the part. You don't want people to think that you don't care. So you you put it on and you do the thing.

Outward Signs Vs Inner Surrender

SPEAKER_00 6:09

And garment tearing today is rarely dramatic. Like back then back then when it was literally tearing your clothes, that's a pretty dramatic outward display that gets some attention and from people, which was you know kind of their point, for better or for worse. Today it's it's rarely as dramatic, but it can be just as outward, just it's more subtle, it's more socially acceptable, it's even spiritual looking. And so I if we're gonna live this out loud, this idea of tear your hearts, not just your garments, as we seek to get right with God for real, then we need to consider some of the ways that we have these subtle, socially acceptable, uh socially acceptable, maybe even spiritual-looking ways that we have some sort of outward expression that may not match the heart of repentance, uh, may not have a heart behind it that is humble and repentant and broken. So I've got I've got some categories of examples, then some specific examples we can talk about. As we do this though, I can we just recognize that some of these may poke us a little bit.

SPEAKER_01 7:17

Like Can I give an example? Uh we we use the phrase, the colloquial phrase of it might strike a nerve or hit a nerve. I have had my very physical nerve in my back going down my leg be struck for the last seven weeks. And it's kind of done one of two things. One thing is it's caused a lot of pain, and one thing is it's caused numbness. Like, so sometimes when we get when a nerve gets struck, it's gonna hurt. And sometimes when a nerve gets struck, it's going to cause us to get numb to that nerve. That nerve is gonna get numb. And so I want to encourage us as we listen to this conversation and as we engage with this scripture and what it might mean for us that sometimes it's gonna hurt. Let's not ignore that hurt. Let's not just let's not just say, oh, I don't like that that hurts. I don't I don't like that Mike and Kelsey said that, or I don't like that that's the application they're giving to the Bible. I'm just gonna go about my day anyway. And also let's just not get numb to it. Let's let's let our nerves feel. Let's let our spiritual nerves feel. Let's let the word of God actually affect us in a way that's going to help us get better and more like Christ and healthier both emotionally and mentally and spiritually as we move forward.

SPEAKER_00 8:37

Yeah, that's good. I uh it was pretty wild at the doctor's office when he struck the like the back of your ankle, the back of your heel with one of those little nerve hammers, and he did it on the healthy side and it, you know, flicked your foot up. He did it on the damaged side, nothing.

SPEAKER_01 8:54

Yeah, those are like no.

SPEAKER_00 8:56

That's not good. That that shows an unhealthy nerve. And likewise, uh, if I could poke your the side of your thigh right now, and you'd be like, ow, it feels like you're stabbing me with knives because that nerve is inflamed down the side of your leg. But that's again, that's not normal. That's not a healthy nerve. Like that's not healthy either to to react that way.

SPEAKER_01 9:15

So to get very angry or to get very numb is both unhealthy extremes.

When Conviction Hurts Or Numbs

SPEAKER_00 9:20

Yeah. So we let the Bible do what it does. Uh, not because Mike and Kelsey say anything, but uh let's just let's just err on the side of, ooh, that hurts a little bit, or ooh, I don't like that. I want to ignore that. Maybe it's the Holy Spirit trying to get our attention. Just at least something to pray into. Just something to, hey, God, what would you like to speak to me today? So, all that said, here are some examples, some modern equivalents of what it looks like to tear your garments but not your heart. First of all, we could talk about public spiritual gestures without the private surrender. Uh for example, posting a maybe a repentant sounding confession online, something that that looks vulnerable, but you're never actually changing your patterns or seeking accountability or making amends. Social media is is the the danger of it is be it's so outward-facing and it's so selective. You people only read and see what you allow them to read and see. And so it's easy to sound repentant, it's easy to sound like your heart is broken for something, it's easy to sound like you really care about something, or you're really going to make a change in such an area. But they don't know what you do after you sign out, and it's up that's between you and God. And it's easy to just feel like you did the the a good thing by posting about your situation, but not actually doing anything anything about it. Similarly, uh another example could be like saying, Okay, I'll yeah, I'll pray about it. Or or like saying, I'll pray for you. Right.

SPEAKER_02 10:58

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 10:58

Um if someone has some bad news that they share with you, I'll pray for you.

SPEAKER_01 11:03

Yeah. Or or go back to I'll pray about it. That's a different situation. That's a different situation because that's that's when a brother or sister in Christ comes to you and is like, hey, I've noticed this in your life. I I I want to encourage you to to ask God about this, this unhealthy pattern or this this potential sin or this uh this trauma that maybe you need to deal with. Like, I've just noticed something in your life that isn't aligned with Christ. And and we respond with like, thank you for bringing that to my attention. I will pray about it. But if you say I will pray about it to look spiritual and correct in the situation, without having any intention whatsoever of going to God and asking for God to reveal in your heart what needs to change, without any intention of wanting to actually change anything about what's going on with you, uh, that is, I think that's a excellent example of rending your garment, but not your heart, because you are in the moment being like, oh, think I I'm so passionate about this because I feel like I have this interaction with someone very recently where like, I felt like the Lord gave me a word for this person and I was speaking uh about things that I I didn't have any way of knowing, except the Lord showed me something in this person's life. And I was like, I think you really need to pray about repenting um for such and such a thing. And this person was like, ah, like they were crying and they were like, Thank you so much. I'm gonna pray about that. And from what I've seen in the weeks since then, I don't think this person has prayed about it at all. Like there's been zero change in in this person's life. And um, and that that just says to me, like, you were in the moment being really spiritual looking, tearing your clothes.

SPEAKER_00 12:40

But you you don't have any intention of actually wrestling with God in prayer, because prayer, especially in light of, oh, I'll pray about that, is gonna require some hard wrestling with God.

SPEAKER_01 12:48

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 12:48

That we don't always feel like doing. Yeah. But we can at least get the conversation to stop if we say, okay, I'll pray about it.

SPEAKER_01 12:54

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 12:54

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 12:55

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 12:56

Another category to consider would be church participation that masks avoidance. Like crying during worship. I I'm never gonna be accused of this one. I'm not super emotional, but that but there are plenty who are are quick to cry, easily cry during worship because it's emotional and and you care, right? But then the pastor will preach about something, and then it's like, oh well, you just kind of don't obey whatever conviction comes from from the the sermon, for example.

SPEAKER_01 13:30

I mean, I can I'm an easy crier, so I can admit this has probably been something I've been guilty of feeling you feel the cathartic release of crying during worship, for example, and then just kind of turn off when the pastor starts saying things that are convicting and start thinking, oh, that's probably for somebody else. But like the the existence of the worship emotion is for me.

unknown 13:53

Right.

SPEAKER_00 13:53

The songs are speaking right to me. Okay, great.

Public Gestures Without Private Change

SPEAKER_01 13:55

Yeah, and then I feel all good about having cried it out. But what I I want to encourage people like myself who do get very emotional in worship, I think the point of that is so that God opens up our hearts to be receptive of the word. So that when whoever's teaching and bringing the word of God before us, our hearts are open and vulnerable and soft to receive it and to receive some correction and and to actually change some things in us. So so we do need to be really careful about not being emotionally invested and cathartic with our worship, but then turning off when there might be something convicting coming from the pulpit.

SPEAKER_00 14:34

And other ways to participate in church, like volunteering on a team, like it it that feels like, oh, that's that's a big sacrifice. That's a oh me, I'm I just want to show how much I care about God and care about my church. But if you're not dealing with the sin that God's been pointing at throughout the rest of the week.

SPEAKER_01 14:52

Or if you're serving so that you stay busy and you don't have to listen to the convicting word from the sermon.

SPEAKER_02 14:59

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 15:01

Oh no, I'm just I'm serving right now. Like, and so everybody thinks that, like, yep, you're invested, you're serving in church, so you're good. But really, you're just kind of doing that to avoid having to engage with actual community in church. You're doing it so you don't have to engage with prayer with other people. You don't have to engage with the messiness of of of relationships, you don't have to engage with the the conviction from sermons because you're serving. And it kind of this the service actually puts up a wall between you and God working in you through your church community, but you look really spiritual.

SPEAKER_00 15:36

Serving on the kids team every week because you're that spiritual and you care that much and you're willing to sacrifice that much, but it mostly it's because you just don't want to sit in on the sermons.

SPEAKER_02 15:45

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 15:45

Or being in the tech team and you're you're working, you're running the slides, you're running the lights, you're running the sound, you're running the live stream, and you you frankly have to focus on those things to make sure that they turn out well. And the more you focus on those, the less you have to focus on what the pastor is actually saying.

SPEAKER_01 16:01

And what the Holy Spirit might be telling you to change in your life.

SPEAKER_00 16:05

Yep. I I say it because I've seen it and I've been there. I know like it's it's a thing, and uh just a heart check, a little bit of an ouch. How about apologies that sound holy? Um they sound repentant, but they don't actually cost anything. Apologies like, oh, I'm sorry if you were hurt, or I'm sorry that you feel that way. That's not really being sorry. You don't have to apologize for someone's emotions. Uh those those sort of apologies are repentance-shaped, but they they just avoid the responsibility and the humility and the loving the other person. Or sometimes we we use spiritual language to kind of minimize or uh the need to to dig in deeper or or just to kind of deflect and say this conversation can be done. Something like, well, you know, God's still working on me, or you know, I'm a work in progress. Like I mean, it's not wrong. It's like, no, God is working on you and and you are a work in progress, but that that's not that's not an excuse to not apologize when necessary. It's not it's not in that's not a reason to not just rend your heart to God and and to a person when maybe you've hurt them. Um instead of repenting of a of a specific wrong, when we use this language of like, uh yeah, you know, I'm still work in progress.

SPEAKER_01 17:25

Uh that's my cross to bear.

SPEAKER_00 17:27

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 17:28

It's like, no, that's a sin to repent of and walk away from.

SPEAKER_00 17:33

Well, how about um religious activity as a substitute for obedience?

unknown 17:39

Oh.

SPEAKER_00 17:39

Earlier we talked about church involvement, but but even throughout the week, we how about starting a new Bible reading plan? You know, we're in we're in January as we're recording this, and there's a lot of new Bible plans started, a lot of new Bible uh I don't know, promises made of that we feel like we're resetting, we're turning over a new leaf, we're starting a new chapter, but we've been ignoring the one thing that God has been making clear all last year. Like, you know what you need to do. A new Bible reading plane is not going to reveal some new truth that you can work on when God has been trying to get you to respond to the one thing that He has been poking you at all last year to do.

SPEAKER_02 18:18

Yeah. Yep.

SPEAKER_00 18:20

I think I think we try to be selective with, well, yeah, yeah, I don't know. That's but that's a big one. Or that that one's been the case since I was a kid. Or yeah, but that one's too big. I let me focus on on doing some other smaller things, maybe, you know, or maybe they're you know, I know I'm a mess. I know there's a lot of areas, maybe one of the other areas we can start on, as if as if you know how to put your life back together better than God does.

SPEAKER_02 18:43

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 18:44

Um let's not ignore what he has been telling us. It's almost it looks holy to go like, uh, I I just I just want to hear everything that's wrong with me. I just want to, I just like reveal all things to me. It's like I don't think you want that.

SPEAKER_01 18:57

You can't handle the truth. I know.

SPEAKER_00 18:59

I just feel like God's like, I'm I I could do that if you want, but I'm trying to be gracious to you in in just highlighting an area that I want to work on right now.

SPEAKER_01 19:06

Um and so when we when we have those areas highlighted to us by the Holy Spirit and he convicts us and and keeps bringing to mind uh an area that that really needs to be submitted to him, when we just don't like that, either it's like a sin we don't really want to give up, or a lifestyle we really actually like, and we don't want to give that up, then we start trying to find, well, I don't want to give that up. So what else can I do? Like what other what other areas can I let God change me in instead? And that that's that's looking like you're being spiritual by wanting God to change you without actually letting God change you in the areas that He's obedience. It's not obedient.

SPEAKER_00 19:51

Yeah. Well, what about uh another category of dramatic moments? We've been talking about more subtle moments, but we can we can do some dramatic moments, but without daily faithfulness, they're just dramatic moments. Something like going forward at an altar call or raising your hand when, you know, when the pastor says, Who wants to make this dedication today, or something like that? And We may go multiple times, go up to the altar multiple times and and and cry in our prayer. Not saying that everyone who does that is fake, not saying that that's a bad thing or a necessary thing every time, but but the problem is when you don't actually take the step of getting discipled, when you don't take the step of of repenting and and seeking more people to to speak into your life who know you and and have your permission to speak into your life, then that display of going forward to the altar, it looks like you're responsive. You know, like most people, 90% of the people in the room aren't going up to the altar when the pastor invites people to, but you're one of them because you're really responsive to the Holy Spirit. True responding to the Holy Spirit happens after you go back to your seat, and then what? Then what do you do?

SPEAKER_01 21:04

When you get in your car and you drive home, how much are is how much are you still allowing the God to work in you and convict you and change you?

SPEAKER_00 21:14

Or are you only open when you go up to the front of the room?

SPEAKER_01 21:17

Right.

Hollow Apologies And Spiritual Deflection

SPEAKER_00 21:18

Similarly, we may make big promises to God when crisis hits. It's like, God, if you get me out of this, almost like those like toilet bowl promises when you're just feeling sick. Like, oh God, if you get me out of this, if you help me feel better, I'll I'll do I'll I'll give you I'll give money to the church. I'll go I'll go volunteer at kids ministry, I'll get my life right, you know. Whether it's a literal or physical toilet bowl confessional, uh what what do we what do we do? Like we make these big promises when we in when we're in crisis, when we really need something, but then once the pressure lifts, once the page turns, you know, and we're like, okay, and we just kind of go back to our the way we were forgetting the promises that we've made to God. Yeah. That's you know what? Even Jesus says, you're better off not making any promises to God. Just don't just like don't vow anything if if you can help it. You know, if you do, you better keep it. But maybe just don't. Maybe just don't make these big promises to God. He's not more affected by your grand gesture of promising. He's not like, oh, he's serious now, or oh, he just up the ante. It's like just be faithful as he is faithful and and ask him for help. And he promises to help.

SPEAKER_01 22:36

And if you make a promise, keep it.

SPEAKER_00 22:37

And if you do, then take it seriously. He he'll he'll take it seriously. Um another another area, I think we could probably wrap up with this one. How about confession without transformation? Which it kind of speaks to the root of things. But when we when we talk openly about our struggles, like in a small group, right? Like, okay, well, here's what's going on in my life. Because vulnerability, it, it there is catharsis in it. There is, it it feels like you're doing the right thing when you are open, when you're vulnerable, instead of being closed off. You're like, okay, so you talk openly about struggles. Some people, this comes easily to people, and some and sometimes I'm like, okay, maybe a little bit less transparency would be good. Uh, but and some it's a struggle, and that is a big step, and that's that it's important to be open.

SPEAKER_01 23:23

I'm not saying that vulnerability in those situations and in prayer with another person or have a small group, like absolutely vulnerable. The problem is when when we're vulnerable in those situations, but without any transformation on the other side.

SPEAKER_00 23:35

When we if it's about like, oh, I've been struggling with this temptation. Okay, great. Thank you for sharing that. Now, are you going to allow your friends, your your mentor, your person that you trust to speak into that, to give you some uh some steps to take that you'll actually follow to check up on you and to check in throughout the week? Like, are you gonna allow that openness or are you just gonna be vulnerable for a conversation?

SPEAKER_01 24:04

Are you gonna actually take steps to not go to those places or maybe stop having relationships with those people that are making that temptation so easy to access in your life? Like, are you gonna take steps to actually change, or are you just being vulnerable to look vulnerable? Because ultimately I've definitely been in these conversations before.

SPEAKER_00 24:25

Been there.

SPEAKER_01 24:26

Both both as the the the person that that is being vulnerable with no intention to change, and also the person that's hearing the prayers or working with someone or having a conversation, and the person's like super vulnerable, super like sharing all their sin, but then no intention to change whatsoever. And I I it's I think it's egregious to God.

SPEAKER_00 24:46

Yeah. Because ultimately it boils down to we can name the sin, but if we don't turn from it, then we are rending, tearing our garments, but not our hearts. And so all of these, we've given a a number of different categories to consider a couple different sp uh examples in each.

SPEAKER_01 25:01

And these might have brought up something completely different in our own life, our own heart.

SPEAKER_00 25:06

We we nailed one, maybe it maybe something else came to mind. But all of these are ways of saying, look, God, I I tore my garment, but our heart stays untouched. And what's so great about this verse in Joel, Joel 2.12, is that God is he's not after the theatrics. He his his heart is for an interior shift of your heart, the the turning of your heart, the softening, the surrender. That's what he's after. And when your heart moves, then the outward expressions can naturally follow. Like none of what we said is wrong in and of itself. They should follow a move of our heart.

SPEAKER_01 25:41

It is not bad to serve in church, it's not bad to cry in church, it's not bad to share your vulnerabilities in a small group, it's not bad to do any of these things, but they should be an outpouring of the heart, not a covering up of what you don't want to deal with.

Busyness, Plans, And Dodging Obedience

SPEAKER_00 25:54

Let's not expect the heart to follow those. Not that it can't. Sometimes you have to go through the motions and and just help your heart catch up, but but let's not expect the heart to come after just doing these things. Let's let them be natural expressions of what our heart is turning toward God and softening and surrendering in and of itself.

SPEAKER_01 26:13

And I want to put this verse back in its context here in Joel and just read some of the verses around it and let that encourage us of why are we why are we so concerned with tearing your hearts and not just your garments, with having it be an inward transformation, not just an outward? Well, this is why the Lord says, Turn to me now while there is still time. Give me your hearts. Come with fasting, weeping, and mourning. Don't tear your clothing and your grief, but tear your hearts instead. Return to the Lord your God, for He is merciful and compassionate. He is slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. He is eager to relent and not punish. Who knows? Perhaps he will give you a reprieve, sending you a blessing instead of this curse. There is still time while you have breath in your lungs before Christ comes back, before the day of the Lord, there is still time to repent, to change your heart and come back to God. And who knows, because of his mercy and compassion and unfailing love, perhaps he will give you a reprieve and send you blessing instead of the curse of sin in your life. That's why this is so important. There will be a time when there's no time left, right? There will be a time where the opportunity to repent is is over. The opportunity is gone. And right now we still have time. And and while there is still time, the Lord might change his mind about the the punishment that you are due to receive. There may be blessing for you on the other side of your repentance, of true repentance and and giving your heart to him. And I think that it's important to note that when he says, give me your hearts, come with fasting, weeping, and mourning. That's not poetic language. I think we can take that super literally. I think we can fast, we can weep and we can mourn over our sin, over the sin of our country, over the sin of our own hearts, over the sin in our families. We can fast about it. We can weep over it, we can mourn over it. And in doing so, we are rending our hearts, helping our hearts, aligning our heartache with what aches the heart of God. And that brings about his blessing instead of punishment.

SPEAKER_00 28:34

All right. Well, I think we will turn off our microphones because I think we've said what we need to say. And I hope that you take this conversation and not just nod and agree, but really lean into what God may be speaking to you about right now. Is there some area that he wants to do some heart surgery? Open yourself up to that. Tear your heart and let him do the beautiful work that he does. Trust him with your heart. He made it. He knows how to take care of it, and he knows how to align it with his. And I pray that you see that in great, abundant measure, even this week. And we'll see you next time.