The book of Joel in the Bible has got to be one of my favorite books. I consider it a fly-over book, like a fly-over state... kinda just...there. But after actually digging into it, I found that it is one of the most beautiful books in the Bible. And there has been this burning, itching in my heart to write about this for a long, long time.
The book of Joel starts with complete and utter destruction. Literally. Locusts are swarming everywhere, people are hysterical, the people are (finally) calling out to God for help. There are thick, black clouds of darkness, the earth quakes and the stars stop shining.
And suddenly... God shows up. This is why it's one of my favorite books. In one sentence, the book changes.
Joel 2:12 - "That is why the Lord says, 'Turn to me now, while there is time. Give me your hearts.'"
Hope. That's what God is saying in short. "I love you. You messed up, but it's okay. There is still time. Come to me." And this is why it has been a burden on my heart: What if we're meant to be the one sentence in someone's life? Have you ever met someone and they say one thing to you and you never forget? What if we are called to be that person for the Kingdom's cause?
He's promising hope when in the next verse He says, "Return to the Lord, your God."
Here's where I'm going to challenge anyone reading this: who are you going to help? Who are you going to be one sentence to? Who are you going to help return to the Lord your God?
Down a little further in verse 22, God starts to talk about plants growing back, hinting at a little normalcy. But I don't think He is promising that kind of prosperity... He's is showing that when we go back to Him He will provide for us. He promises to give us what we need and He of all people knows that our deepest, most 'malnourished' (for lack of a better word) needs are spiritual.
I connect this to Joel 2:28 ... God says, "Then, after doing all those things, I will pour my Spirit upon all people. Your sons and daughters will prophecy. Your old men will dream dreams, and your young men will see visions."
After.
No rain, no rainbow. No destruction, no peace.
My pastor, Miriam, said a reference once that reminds me of this: she talked about how a miner takes a diamond in it's rawest form and literally puts it through fire until all of its impurities come up, then the miner wipes them off and does it again until he can see his reflection in the diamond.
God said after doing all those things... After putting you through the fire, after wiping the impurities from you, I will pour out my Spirit. After the rain, I will send a rainbow.
Will you show someone how to praise through the fire? Will you show someone that God does things with us in mind? Or is it too much effort. Is the grace of God too near and dear to your heart to share it?
No offense, I know God is a jealous lover for me. He doesn't want to share me with my sin, He doesn't want to share me with the world. But I don't feel that way. I want to share Him to the world... and if that means showing Him to one person, being that one sentence in someone's life, then I will do it. In Isaiah, God asks, "Who will I send?"
Will you let Him send you?
Will you take it into your own hands, or will you let it slip right through your fingers?
In Joel 3:21, the last verse of this short, but impacting, book, it says, "I will pardon My people's crimes which I have not yet pardoned; and I, the Lord, will make My home in Jerusalem with My people."
My study Bible points out that Joel started the book with complete destruction and ended it with complete peace. That got me thinking, wow, this is our journey, isn't it? It's hard and rough...we are hysterical, there are thick, black clouds of darkness and the stars stop shining. But as we call out to God, we find more peace. We find more protection. And once He is done allowing us to learn through the fire, He makes His home with us in our hearts.
Will you show someone that this is the God you serve? Will you show someone there is hope? My heart literally burns with a passion for this... it has been on my heart for the longest time. Will you burn with a fire for God and light someone else's candle? A candle that the cold world has put out?
Will you show someone who God really is, not what the world's blindfold makes Him look like?
Will you take it into your own hands?
Or will you let it slip right through?
Tick tock.
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