Sunday Reading: Joel 1:4-14
Key Verse: Joel 1:14
14 Set apart a fast; call a solemn gathering; gather the elders and all the people of the land into the house of Jehovah your God, and cry to the Lord,
Key Verse: Joel 1:14
14 Set apart a fast; call a solemn gathering; gather the elders and all the people of the land into the house of Jehovah your God, and cry to the Lord,
Devotion:
Things happen! We may not like some of the things that happen in our lives but they still happen. We may not want them to happen and we may even expect God to protect us from them, but still, things happen. This does not mean that God is not with us. This does not mean that God is not real. It is a simple reminder that we live in a world that has been corrupted by sin.
Things happen! We may not like some of the things that happen in our lives but they still happen. We may not want them to happen and we may even expect God to protect us from them, but still, things happen. This does not mean that God is not with us. This does not mean that God is not real. It is a simple reminder that we live in a world that has been corrupted by sin.
It may not be our sin that has brought bad things upon us, it may not even be anyone involved. The fact is that we live in a world of sin. That sin corrupts things and breaks down the structure that God has set up. It is allowed to break it down because God has given us free will and we are exercising that free will without thinking about the consequences. Men that came before us in history have done things that still affect us today. Men in power and in charge have left God out of the equation and have brought greed and lust into the equation instead. With that sort of history behind us we can expect a whole lot more corruption and a whole lot more to have to put up with because of the consequences of that corruption.
But what about our lives? Why are we personally affected? Is it because we ignore God? Is He punishing us in some way?
Our God is not a God that dishes out punishment to anyone who does not listen – we leave that to other extreme religions. Our God is a loving God who patiently waits for us to return to His side. If we ignore Him, then we have to walk in our historically corrupt world, a world where people care more about themselves than others. Should we expect fair trade from that sort of world or should we expect what we seem to see? More often than not it is not our own sin that makes things happen to us but rather the fact that we have chosen to live in a corrupt world instead of living by God’s side. Unfortunately for us, keeping close to God still means that we have to put up with the corruption that is around us, but at least we can know that our future is secure!
Points to Ponder:
Do you blame God when things go bad?
Or do you cry out to God?
Do you blame God when things go bad?
Or do you cry out to God?