Devotions based on Week 2 of The Prophets: Joel (WATCH HERE)
Alas for that day! For the day of the Lord is near; it will come like destruction from the Almighty.(Joel 1:15)
“Blow a trumpet in Zion; sound an alarm on my holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble, for the day of the Lord is coming; it is near.” (Joel 2:1)
The prophet Joel steps into a time of devastation. Israel is reeling from a natural disaster, a locust plague that has stripped the land bare and threatened the nation’s survival. Yet Joel sees something even deeper at work: this is not just a crisis of agriculture, but a wake up call that the Lord is sending his people. There is a spiritual alarm going off. The “Day of the Lord” is near.
For the people of Joel’s day, the “Day of the Lord” was both a present reality and a future warning. God was using current events to get his people’s attention and bring awareness to the spiritual condition of their hearts. The locust plague led to facing the reality of one’s mortality which naturally leads to reflecting on one’s standing with a holy God.
The reaction when disaster struck was naturally to grieve and mourn the tangible physical loss. In Joel’s culture, that was done by the tearing of one’s garments. However, the purpose of the plague was not to lament the destruction of crops, livelihoods and wealth, but rather to lead the people to (Joel 2:13) Rend your heart and not your garments.
God is using the plague and the message of Joel to call His people to repentance. God interrupts life to lead his people to consider their relationship with him. This is not the act of a vengeful God, but rather a gracious interruption to turn hearts back to Him. “Return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning,” God says through Joel (Joel 2:12). This is not a call to mere emotion, but to a genuine reorientation of one’s heart back to the Lord.
Is it possible that God does the same thing today?
Yes it is.
We can get busy with life. We can be focused on ourselves, our family and our career. When life takes an unexpected turn with personal tragedy, natural disaster, or national tragedy we can wring our hands in worry, express frustration and anger at the Lord and others, or fear for what is to come.
But maybe it is just the Lord, in his grace, interrupting our lives to reorient our hearts back to him. Maybe he is allowing our health to decline so we find our strength in him. Maybe he allows our financial condition to change to remove the love of money from our hearts. Maybe he brings tragedy to our nation to lead us to remember he is in control.
Why?
Because he loves us enough to not lose our hearts to the transient, fleeting things of this world. He loves us enough to bring us back to see and love his heart of grace, mercy and peace. As Joel said, “Yet even now,” declares the Lord, “return to me… for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love.” (Joel 2:12–13)
Remember when God gets your attention, it is to return your heart back to his.
Apply: How has God got your attention? What do you find in your heart to repent of? Return to the Lord to once again find his mercy and grace!
Prayer: Lord, awaken my heart. Let me not sleep through the urgency of these days. As I await the Day of the Lord, help me to live by Your Spirit, to repent quickly, and to witness boldly. Thank You for Your mercy that restores what sin and suffering have devoured. Prepare me to stand with joy when that Day comes. In Jesus’ name, Amen.