Change your life, not just your clothes. Come back to God, YOUR God. And here’s why: God is kind and merciful. He takes a deep breathe, puts up with a lot, this most patient God, extravagant in love, always ready to cancel catastrophe. — Joel 2:13 (The Message)

Have you ever known people who can put on many different personas depending on the people they are with? They aren’t people with multiple personalities but people who can be the life of the party with this group and, when they join another group, they become quiet and demur. It almost seems like they can change their personalities like they change their clothes.

Sometimes people do this when they have a need to be accepted and this need leads them to scope out the people they are with so that they can choose the personality that would best fit in with the crowd. A problem can come up when a person changes their personality so much that they lose track of who they really are.

I read an interview with Peter Sellers. The interviewer asked Sellers which of the many characters that he had played was most like him. The reply was that he had played so many different characters that he didn’t know who he was anymore. That would be so sad – to not know who you are.

Joel is speaking to the Israelites after a swarm of locusts came over the land and ate everything. Just as we do today, the Israelites were living their lives day by day, as best as they could; but when the locusts came, everything stopped. People were in a panic and their lives were focused on what they were going to do next.  

Often, when we’re in a panic, we look for quick solutions: Instead of praying three times a day, we’ll start praying seven times a day. Let’s bind up our hair because everyone knows that unbound hair is an invitation to unbridled lust. We’ll wear our prayer shawls all day long!

Joel is saying that changes need to be made—but not the superficial changes that we feel most comfortable with. Joel says that the change has to be deeper. We need to invite God back into our lives. Not the God that somebody else has decided to worship, but the God who knows you and who you know. The God who has watched your first footsteps and has been with you all your life. Reconnect with him. This God loves you and will take you in. He is merciful, kind, and patient. If you honestly ask for his help, he’ll give it to you.

If we’re in the midst of a catastrophe, it might not be a bad idea to take Joel’s advice. The thing is that we need to be honest with ourselves and with God. If anyone can detect a hustle, it’s God.

Becky Gillette is a former teacher, newspaper reporter, and preacher who seeks to take an original approach to life’s lessons. She has recently published her first book, Jessie’s Corner: Something To Think About, which is now available for purchase. Based on several lesser-known scriptures from the Bible, this is a collection of articles which she wrote for a weekly newspaper.