Joel 2:11-13 The Lord gives voice before His army, For His camp is very great; For strong is the One who executes His word. For the day of the Lord is great and very terrible; Who can endure it? “Now, therefore,” says the Lord, “Turn to Me with all your heart, With fasting, with weeping, and with mourning.” So rend your heart, and not your garments; Return to the Lord your God, For He is gracious and merciful, Slow to anger, and of great kindness; And He relents from doing harm.
In this prophetic passage, the critical question is immediately followed by the powerfully convicting answer. Joel prophesies the Day of the Lord, and asks, “Who can endure it?” The next word “therefore”, is followed by the prophet’s urgent counsel: “Turn to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning!” Real repentance — not some superficial, wimpy, “I’m sorry God”, but a deep, sorrowful, heart-wrenching cry with fasting, that means business and recognizes the terrible danger ahead — is what is required.
I have to ask myself, how willing am I to enter into this depth of repentance in order to restore, or deepen my relationship with my Lord, or to cry out in identification with a dying world full of lost souls. Are my emotions and my soul willing to be passionately engaged with the grim reality in and around me? How does this affect my prayer life? or my attitude toward my sins? As I look at this world, I clearly see the Day of the Lord looming on the horizon. This prophecy may never be more applicable than it is now, in our very day.
Let’s take a serious account of things, and allow ourselves to be truly, profoundly moved by what we find. If, as the Lord told us, those that mourn are blessed, then let’s not shrink back from what we see in ourselves and in the world around us..”There is a time to mourn”…the Lord will be rejoicing. He is seeking those who will recognize and deeply repent of their sin…and He longs to forgive and restore us.
Copyright 1999-2024 Worthy Devotions. This devotional was originally published on Worthy Devotions and was reproduced with permission.
How to display the above article within the Worthy Suite WordPress Plugin.
[worthy_plugins_devotion_single_body]It was a stormy night in Birmingham, England, and Hudson Taylor was to speak at a meeting at the Severn Street schoolroom. His hostess assured him that nobody would attend on such a stormy night, but Taylor insisted on going. “I must go even if there is no one but the doorkeeper.” Less than a dozen people …
In a documentary mini series called “Against All Odds” a remarkable story is told about an Israeli platoon who found themselves in the midst of a minefield along the Syrian border during the Yom Kippur War. When the platoon realized they were in a minefield they pulled out their bayonets and started to dig out mines and to disarm them…
This past weekend saw an unprecedented assault on Israel by Iran; 185 drones, 36 cruise missiles, and 110 surface-to-surface missiles were launched in successive waves from the eastern enemy nation devoted to the destruction of the Jewish homeland. More than 99% of these objects were intercepted by Israel and her allies. Israel’s military is extraordinarily capable and her allies’ support significant, yet I believe there is a bit more to the story.
As soon as we were translated into the Kingdom of Light, we entered a spiritual war — and we must realize the warfare we face on a day-to-day basis. Constantly contending in our minds, we battle over thoughts and emotions which flow through them. The enemy often attacks by bringing up issues from our past.
In his book, A Spiritual Clinic, J. Oswald Sanders wrote about the lasting family legacies of two families from New York.
Yesterday marked the 1st day of Nissan, the beginning of the year on the Hebrew calendar. Nissan is known as the “month of miracles”, derived from the Hebrew word, “nissim”, which means “miracles”. Israel finally and miraculously left Egypt in the month of Nissan after hundreds of years of slavery. God orchestrated their escape, “nus” in Hebrew, (which some say is connected to Nissan), displaying His power over the Egyptian gods and His sovereignty over every pantheon. Nissan may also be related to the Hebrew word “nitzan”, which means “to bud” or “to start fresh and anew”, reflecting the seasonal advent of new life and new beginnings…springtime.
This is a powerful passage which believers must claim! The Greek for the word “heaven”, “oo-ran-os”, implies not only heaven, but also eternity. The enemy was removed from the eternal places, and his power is only temporary in this world. Our power does not come from this temporary world, but from eternity, from the eternal throne of God.