Back to the Good Times
Joel 2:25-27 I will repay you for the years that the swarming locust has eaten, the hopper, the destroyer, and the cutter, my great army, which I sent against you. You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, and praise the name of the LORD your God, who has dealt wondrously with you. And my people shall never again be put to shame. You shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I, the LORD, am your God and there is no other. And my people shall never again be put to shame. (ESV)
When we’re struggling through difficult times, when we’re living out the consequences, frankly, of our own sin, it’s easy to imagine God sitting up there in the comfort of heaven watching us squirm, and enjoying it. But nothing could be further from the truth.
That Germanic idea of schadenfreude – the joy of watching someone get their just desserts – is something that we’ve all experienced. Serves them right! Right? But that’s not an idea that ever enters God’s mind.
Because although, as we saw yesterday, He’ll visit the consequences of our sin upon our lives, His heart towards us is always – always! – redemptive. He wants us back in His arms. He wants to bless us with His love, the way any good father would.
That’s the very point He makes to His people through the prophet Joel:
Joel 2:25-27 I will repay you for the years that the swarming locust has eaten, the hopper, the destroyer, and the cutter, my great army, which I sent against you. You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, and praise the name of the LORD your God, who has dealt wondrously with you. And my people shall never again be put to shame. You shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I, the LORD, am your God and there is no other. And my people shall never again be put to shame. (ESV)
Friend, listen to me. If you, through your sin, have wandered away from God; if you through your sin, find yourself in one of those terrible wildernesses, then today God is speaking to you of His redemptive love. Today, God is calling you back to Himself.
That’s His Word. Fresh … for you … today.
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