Sermon draft: Return to the Lord with All Your Heart
Main passage: Joel 2:12–17
Big idea: Because the Lord is gracious and compassionate, he calls us to turn from sin and return to him with our whole hearts, together and in hope.
Introduction
Ash Wednesday begins with a reminder we may not naturally want: we are mortal. Our lives are not endless, and we are not in control of everything we would like to control. The words spoken when ashes are placed on a person’s forehead often echo the words of Genesis 3:19: “You are dust, and to dust you shall return.”
That reminder can sound bleak. But in the Bible, facing our mortality is not meant to drive us into despair. It can wake us up. It can help us see what we have been avoiding, loosen our grip on what cannot save us, and turn our attention toward the God who gives life.
The ashes themselves do not save us. They do not make us more acceptable to God, and they are not a substitute for repentance or faith. They are a sign—one way of acknowledging our need and our dependence on the Lord. Whether or not a Christian tradition uses ashes, Joel’s call is for all of us: “Return to me with all your heart.”
Joel speaks to people facing disaster. Earlier in the book, a devastating locust plague has stripped the land and threatened the people’s food and worship. Joel warns that this crisis points beyond itself to the “day of the LORD,” a day of God’s judgment. The people cannot simply carry on as if nothing is wrong. They must seek the Lord.
And then, in the middle of that warning, comes a startling invitation. God says, “Yet even now”—even now, when the damage is real, when the threat is serious, when the people have reason to grieve—“return to me.”
That invitation is the heart of this passage. Joel does not call us to pretend that sin is small or that suffering is easy. He calls us to bring our whole lives before God because God is gracious and compassionate.
1. The Lord calls us to return, not merely to look religious
Joel 2:12 begins: “Yet even now,” declares the LORD, “return to me with all your heart” (ESV).
Those first words matter: “Yet even now.” The people are facing a crisis. They have heard a warning of judgment. They have experienced loss. The Lord does not say, “There is no problem.” He does not tell them that their situation is imaginary or that they can ignore the consequences of their sin. But he does tell them that the crisis is not the end of the story. There is a way back: “Return to me.”
The word “return” describes a change of direction. It is not merely feeling sorry, and it is not simply regretting that life has become difficult. To return to the Lord is to turn toward him—to leave behind the path of self-rule and come back under his good authority.
Joel says this return must be “with all your heart.” The heart in Scripture is not merely the seat of emotion. It includes our thinking, our desires, our decisions, and our loyalties. God does not ask for a religious gesture while we keep the rest of our lives for ourselves. He calls us to come back with the whole person.
That is why Joel continues: “with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning” (Joel 2:12, ESV). These are outward signs of grief and seriousness. But the signs are not the main thing. In verse 13, Joel says, “Rend your hearts and not your garments” (ESV).
In that culture, tearing one’s garment could be a visible expression of grief. The gesture could be appropriate and sincere. But it could also be performed without a real change of heart. Joel is not condemning every outward sign of repentance. He is warning against making the sign a substitute for the reality.
A person can look sorrowful and remain stubborn. A person can attend a service, observe a season, or use the right words while refusing to surrender a cherished sin. We can confess generally—“I’m not perfect”—while avoiding the particular things the Lord is asking us to face. We can be moved by a service and still leave determined to keep God at a distance.
So Ash Wednesday invites us to ask more than, “What does this day look like?” It invites us to ask, “Where have I turned away from the Lord? What am I protecting from his authority? What needs to change—not just on my forehead, but in my heart?”
This is a word for every age. A child may need to admit the truth after hurting a brother or sister instead of blaming someone else. A teenager may need to turn from hiding a part of life from parents, friends, or God. An adult may need to confess that work, comfort, money, resentment, or approval has become more important than the Lord. A person who has followed Christ for decades may still need to acknowledge a coldness toward God or a pattern of neglecting others.
The details differ. The call does not: return to the Lord with all your heart.
Imagine a person who has taken a wrong road. The longer that person travels, the more miles there are between them and the destination. At some point, it is not enough to say, “I wish I were somewhere else.” The person must turn around. Repentance is not only sorrow about where sin has taken us. It is turning back toward God.
And this return is not a payment we offer to make God love us. We do not repent in order to persuade a reluctant God to become merciful. Joel’s invitation rests on who God already is. The command is real, and the repentance is real, but grace is not something we earn by appearing suitably sorry. We return because God calls us, and because he is merciful.
So let us be honest before him. We do not need to hide behind a religious appearance. The Lord is not asking for a performance. He is calling us back.
2. We can return because the Lord is gracious and compassionate
Joel’s call to repent might sound frightening if we believed God were eager to reject anyone who came to him. But Joel gives the reason we can return: “for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love” (Joel 2:13, ESV).
These words are not an excuse to take sin lightly. They are a revelation of God’s character. His mercy is not permission to remain in sin; it is the hope that makes returning possible.
Notice the contrast. The people have failed, but God is gracious. The people have reason to grieve, but God is merciful. The people are under the shadow of judgment, but God is “slow to anger.” Their hope is not that they have finally become good enough to deserve another chance. Their hope is that the Lord is full of steadfast love.
Joel adds that the Lord “relents over disaster” (Joel 2:13, ESV). This does not mean God is fickle or that people can manipulate him by saying the correct words. It means that judgment is not the only word God speaks to those who turn to him. He hears, shows mercy, and acts according to his wise and compassionate purpose.
Verse 14 says, “Who knows whether he will not turn and relent, and leave a blessing behind him?” (ESV). Joel does not tell the people to demand a particular outcome. They are not promised that every loss will be reversed or that every consequence will disappear. “Who knows?” is the language of humble dependence. They appeal to the Lord, but they do not presume to control him.
That distinction matters for us. Sometimes we return to God because we want him to fix a circumstance. We may want a relationship restored, a burden removed, a diagnosis changed, or a consequence taken away. We can bring those requests to him. The Bible encourages us to pray. But repentance is not a bargaining arrangement: “I will turn to God if he gives me what I want.” We return because he is God, and because his mercy is better than our self-rule—even when we cannot see how our circumstances will unfold.
The deepest proof of God’s mercy is found in Jesus Christ. God does not ignore sin, and he does not leave sinners to carry its guilt alone. At the cross, Jesus bore the judgment our sins deserve. He died for sinners and rose again. The gospel does not say that sin is harmless. It tells us that Christ has done what we could never do for ourselves, and that forgiveness is received by grace through faith.
That is why Christian repentance is never a way of earning salvation. We do not climb our way back to God by the intensity of our sorrow. We come to God through Christ, trusting the mercy he has shown us in the cross. We confess our sin because Christ is sufficient. We turn from sin because the Lord is worthy of our trust. We seek a changed life not to purchase grace, but because grace has come to us.
Think of a person who has broken trust and finally comes to admit what they have done. The admission does not undo the harm, and it does not guarantee that every relationship will be restored immediately. But truth is the beginning of an honest way forward. In a far greater way, God does not call us to pretend that our sin has done no harm. He calls us to bring it into the light and to trust his mercy in Christ.
The cross tells us both how serious our sin is and how great God’s love is. We need not minimize the wrong we have done. We need not pretend we can repair our standing before God through our own effort. We can confess the truth and look to Jesus.
Perhaps you are carrying shame over something you have done. Perhaps you are wondering whether you have gone too far, or whether God would receive you if you truly turned back. Joel’s words answer: the Lord is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. Come to him—not because you have earned a welcome, but because he calls you to return.
3. Repentance is personal, but it is also shared
Joel does not speak only to isolated individuals. In verses 15 and 16, he calls the whole community together: “Blow the trumpet in Zion; consecrate a fast; call a solemn assembly” (Joel 2:15, ESV).
The whole people are summoned. The elders, the children, even the nursing infants are included. The bridegroom and bride are told to leave their celebration and come. No part of the community is treated as irrelevant to the call to seek God.
This does not mean that each person has exactly the same responsibility or the same understanding. A child is not in the same position as a leader. A newcomer is not responsible for the same things as someone entrusted with years of influence. But the passage makes clear that turning to God is not merely a private exercise. The whole people need the Lord, and the whole community is called to seek him.
That challenges an individualistic view of faith. It is possible to think, “My relationship with God is my own business.” But Scripture also teaches us to belong to one another, to encourage one another, and to bear burdens together. When one person is struggling, others can pray and help. When a church has wandered from its calling, it needs a shared return to Scripture, prayer, compassion, holiness, and faithful witness.
Joel names the priests in verse 17. They are to weep between the vestibule and the altar, praying: “Spare your people, O LORD” (ESV). The leaders do not stand apart from the people as if only others need mercy. They intercede for the community. Their prayer recognizes that the people belong to God and need his help.
The passage also refuses to let us assume that spiritual seriousness belongs only to adults. The very young are present. Families are called together. Children may not understand every detail of repentance, but they can learn to tell the truth, ask forgiveness, receive mercy, and pray with the church. Older members can model a humble faith that keeps turning to Christ rather than pretending to have outgrown the need for grace.
Picture a family in which one person has been carrying a heavy burden alone. It may be grief, a struggle with sin, or a difficult decision. When the burden is finally shared with trustworthy people, the problem may not vanish, but the person is no longer left to face it in isolation. That is one reason the Lord gives his people a church: not as a gathering of people who have no need of mercy, but as a community that receives mercy and helps one another follow Christ.
This is not a call to expose every private matter to everyone. Wisdom, confidentiality, and care matter. But it is a call to refuse the pretense that we can follow Jesus without the help of his people. We need worship, prayer, teaching, encouragement, correction, and practical care. We need to pray not only, “Lord, have mercy on me,” but also, “Lord, have mercy on us.”
As a church, we can ask: Are we making room for the young and the old to learn and follow Jesus? Are we bearing one another’s burdens? Are we willing to confess where our shared life has failed—where we have neglected the vulnerable, allowed division to grow, or become more concerned with appearances than with faithfulness? Do we pray for our community and our neighbors, asking the Lord to show mercy?
Joel’s summons is not a demand that we manufacture an emotional moment. It is a call to turn together toward God. Some people may weep. Some may be quiet. Some may begin with a simple, honest prayer. The point is not that everyone displays the same emotion. The point is that we seek the Lord with sincerity and dependence.
Conclusion
Ash Wednesday places a simple, serious truth before us: our lives are brief, and we need the Lord. The dust reminds us that we are not God. We cannot secure our own lives forever, erase our own guilt, or make ourselves righteous by effort.
But the message of Joel does not end with our weakness. “Yet even now,” says the Lord, “return to me with all your heart.” The invitation rests on God’s character: he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
So do not mistake the sign for the reality. Ashes cannot forgive sin. A religious season cannot save us. A sincere feeling cannot make us right with God. Our hope is Jesus Christ—his cross, his resurrection, and the mercy of God given to us through him.
And because that mercy is real, we can tell the truth about our sin. We can turn back. We can seek forgiveness and ask for help. We can pray for our households and our church. We can take one faithful step of obedience, trusting not in the strength of our repentance but in the goodness of the Lord who calls us home.
Call to response
If you have never trusted Jesus Christ, turn to him today. Admit your need and your sin; believe that Jesus died and rose again; and entrust yourself to him. Salvation is God’s gift, received by faith—not something you earn by religious practice or personal effort.
If you already belong to Christ, ask the Lord to show you where you need to return to him. Name it honestly before him. Confess it, seek forgiveness where you have wronged someone, and take the next step of obedience. You do not have to make yourself worthy before you come. Come because Christ is merciful, and ask the Holy Spirit to help you walk in newness of life.
And as a congregation, let us seek the Lord together. May we be a people who do not hide behind appearances, but who receive his mercy and show that mercy to one another.
Closing prayer
Gracious and compassionate Lord, we confess that we have turned from you in our thoughts, words, and actions. Forgive us for the times we have cared more about appearances than about a faithful heart. Thank you for calling us to return, and for giving us hope through the death and resurrection of Jesus. Help us trust your mercy, turn from sin, and walk in obedience. Strengthen our church to seek you together and to care for one another. Remember us in your steadfast love, and make our lives fruitful for your glory. In Jesus’ name, amen.