Getting to the Good Stuff of God

The Book of Joel is one of the smallest books in the Bible but it makes a powerful punch. It is not for the weak of heart but it takes great courage to tackle God’s message for Israel found within its pages.

The fields had been ravished, and the fruit trees were dried up along with the joy that had once filled their hearts. Everything was gone. 

But weren’t these God’s people?  Why would He allow such heartache and destruction? Don’t we blame God when everything falls apart?  I’m not proud to say it but I would have to raise my hand that many times I do. 

It is knowing that God is sovereign and He has this great power to change things. He can make all things new and bring joy and peace.  So why would a loving God cause such devastation and loss to anyone but especially to His own people? It has been in my wrestlings with God and my time seeking answers to life’s hard questions that I realize that perhaps He takes from us earthly things to make us hungry for eternal things. 

If we are completely honest so often when we read God’s word we skip the not-so-pleasant parts like we find in the Book of Joel.  We skip ahead to verses about God’s goodness and grace. It is easier to read that God is merciful than to read He is a God of judgment and that He hates this thing called sin.  

We want to cloak ourselves in “God is love” and “God says do not judge” but do we grasp the meaning of those verses?  Do we even want to understand what they mean in full context of scripture?  

As I began to read the Book of Joel and look at what sin can do to a nation and a life, it is easy to want to skip ahead and get back to the more joyous books of the Bible. The ones that talk about His blessings and favor. But if you spend any time in God’s word at all truly seeking truth you will learn that you can’t get to all those good parts we love without first going through some very hard-to-read passages. 

Joel had a message for these wayward people.  A message of repentance. A message to do a 380-degree turn from their sin.  So often the message of repentance is avoided and carries a stigma of shame. The truth is repentance is a beautiful thing. It is a gift of God to bring us closer to Him. 

We can never have a deep relationship with God living a sinful life. We can never get to the joy, blessing, and favor without first spending time on our knees and without first visiting the cross. After all, would there have been any need for salvation if there wasn’t anything we had needed saving from?  

 I put some things on hold this week and pushed others things aside. I spent time on my knees this week confessing some things of my own before the Lord.  I had some things I needed to lay off and other things I needed to take up. Things that I just needed to talk to my heavenly Father about…mostly personal things that will stay between me and Him.  

I have learned over the years that confession is not a bad thing and something I do not apologize for. It keeps my heart in good standing with my Jesus.  After all, a repenting heart is a heart being prepared for the best things God has to offer.  So all those things like blessings, favor, and joy are found in abundance on my knees at the cross. I have never visited that precious place that I left feeling much better than before I went.  Yes, I will visit often. 

Joel 2:12-13 reads, “Even now, this is the Lord’s declaration, turn to me with all your heart, with fasting, weeping, and mourning. Tear your hearts, not just your clothes, and return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, abounding in faithful love, and he relents from sending disaster.” 

God had called them to “rend your hearts and not your garments.” God didn’t just want an outward show of repentance but an actual turning away from sin to turn to Him. Living a Christian life wouldn’t just be about some things you check off a list each week but about giving your hearts to a merciful God. 

So if your life looks a little like a wasteland today I have good news. If your heart feels ravished and all joy and peace have withered from your vine there is a place you can go to make a change for the better. 

You will find Jesus waiting for you and He will be so pleased to see you.  Restoration and redemption are real things. I’m sure you will leave with your bags full and your heart refreshed. It will be then that you discover that repentance is not a thing to avoid but a thing to embrace. And then you will agree to spend time in the Book of Joel was well worth your time too. 

See you in the field, 

Susan 

“Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love; and he relents over disaster” Joel 2:13 

“Fear not, O land; be glad and rejoice, for the Lord has done great things!” Joel 2:21 

“I will restore to you the years that the swarming locusts has eaten, the hopper, the destroyer, and the cutter, my great army, which I sent among you. You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, and praise the name of the Lord your God, who has dealt wondrously with you” Joel 2:25-26