Joel faces a terrible situation. His homeland has been ravaged. Is it a plague of locusts? Is it a plague of invaders being pictured as locusts? We don't know. What we do know is that his homeland has been ravaged, time and again, until there are no resources. Those who remain are dealing with famine and disease. The society is shattered.
What hope is there? If our hope is in this world only we are quickly out of hope. An earthquake, a flood, a landslide, a drought, a medical condition - anything can happen. We are in an uncertain position, all of us. We are all quite vulnerable, no matter how many walls of defense we build, no matter how many insurance policies we hold, no matter how we have stockpiled our resources or sought to become self-sufficient. We all are in a precarious position in this life. Our health and safety can be taken away at any time through all sorts of means. If our hope is in this world only, it perishes quickly.
Where then is our hope? As with the people to whom Joel spoke, our hope is also in the Lord. Our Lord who does not perish, our Lord who was victorious over death, hell and the grave, our Lord the one crucified for our sins and raised for our justification - our hope can be in him. He, the deathless one who graciously rules heaven and earth, has called a people by his name, has delivered them in and through all their troubles, and will bring them safely to their eternal home. Our hope is not in this world only. Our hope is in the Lord of heaven and earth. All our struggles in this temporal life should lead us to look to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Lord, give us faith to trust you rather than ourselves and our circumstances.
No comments:
Post a Comment