Mourn like a virgin in sackcloth grieving for the husband of her youth.
Joel 1:8
Have you ever wondered about the events that will signal the end of the world? With all the commotion happening across the globe and in our lives, many people are beginning to wonder whether this is it. Is it? I cannot say definitively whether the invasion of locusts in Africa, the global pandemic, the earthquakes in various parts of the world and the general chaos of world systems signal the end. I doubt that there is anyone, except God himself, who can (Matthew 24:36). What I can say is that we should all pay attention. It is definitely a signal (Matthew 24:32). God, in his loving kindness, always sends his children a signal, prior to any judgment (The flood-Genesis 6-8; The Exodus-Exodus 8-12; …).
In Joel, the word of God comes to the prophet Joel. He describes the devastation of Judah by an invasion of locusts and caterpillars. The people of Judah are called to repent of their sins and lament “like a virgin in sackcloth grieving for the husband of her youth (vs.8). The prophet calls on the people to look up to God in their lamentations and humble themselves before him.
Today the world is facing multiple threats that threaten human existence and the same God is once again reaching out in mercy, saying “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land ( 2 Chronicles 7:14). Beloved, God is speaking, just as he did before. It is time to repent, and turn to him in our lamentations, and who knows, he may relent from doing harm and send blessings instead of curses (Joel 2: 12-14).
This week take time to pray with a focus on confessing the sins of our nation.
Our Father: forgive us for focusing on the speck in our brother’s and sister’s eye, instead of attending to the log in our own eye. Cleanse us through the blood of Jesus and heal our nation and our world. In Jesus’ name, Amen.