Scripture Reading(s)
Joel 2:1-2, 12-17
2:1 Blow the trumpet in Zion; sound the alarm on my holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble, for the day of the LORD is coming, it is near-
2:2 a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness! Like blackness spread upon the mountains a great and powerful army comes; their like has never been from of old, nor will be again after them in ages to come.
2:12 Yet even now, says the LORD, return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning;
2:13 rend your hearts and not your clothing. Return to the LORD, your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, and relents from punishing.
2:14 Who knows whether he will not turn and relent, and leave a blessing behind him, a grain offering and a drink offering for the LORD, your God?
2:15 Blow the trumpet in Zion; sanctify a fast; call a solemn assembly;
2:16 gather the people. Sanctify the congregation; assemble the aged; gather the children, even infants at the breast. Let the bridegroom leave his room, and the bride her canopy.
2:17 Between the vestibule and the altar let the priests, the ministers of the LORD, weep. Let them say, “Spare your people, O LORD, and do not make your heritage a mockery, a byword among the nations. Why should it be said among the peoples, ‘Where is their God?'”
Reflections
As Christians, whenever we fall into sin there is always the temptation to allow for our mistakes to blind us from seeing and understanding God’s Grace. Sometimes feeling guilt over our sin takes a toll on us. It is a hard lesson to keep in mind that where there is true repentance there is true forgiveness. God’s ultimate design for salvation was to eradicate sin once and for all so that we do not have to be defined by our own mistakes. Sin causes us to fall into darkness and our focus becomes shifted from remembering that the work on the cross saved and redeems us. When we fall into sin, God is there to hear us cry out to Him with a true repentant heart and it is there that He extends forgiveness.
The nation of Israel are being called to repent and turn away from their sin. This passage depicts that not only does our God forgive but as a result it is a true mark that God is at work for others to see. When we choose to turn away from our old lives and live out a life that honours God, not only do we experience God’s blessings but others around us will see a visible difference and we then in turn become a living and breathing source of encouragement to the world.
Joel called for preparing for the day of the Lord almost 500-600 years before Jesus came to the earth. How were people supposed to prepare for the coming of the Lord? They were to repent of their sins and also
rend your hearts and not your clothing (Joel 2:13)
Joel is aware that God demands a repentant heart, not just the outward appearance of repentance. It is often said that repentance is the act of turning away from sin, not just apologizing for sin.
In this season of Lent, let us do as Joel instructs us. We are called to fast and solemnly observe our distance from the Lord and return to Him with all our hearts. Do not miss this opportunity to draw close to the Lord with much of the world’s Christian population, in fasting a prayer.
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