March 18, 2002
Disarray
Alas for the day! For the day of the Lord is at hand; it shall come as destruction from the Almighty. Is not the food cut off before our eyes, joy and gladness from the house of our God? The seed shrivels under the clods, storehouses are in shambles; barns are broken down, for the grain has withered. How the animals groan! The herds of cattle are restless, because they have no pasture; even the flocks of sheep suffer punishment. O Lord, to You I cry out; for the fire has devoured the open pastures, and a flame has burned all the trees of the field. The beasts of the field also cry out to You, for the water brooks are dried up, and fire has devoured the open pastures. Joel 1:15-20 (NKJV)
Where is the food for the people? The word of God has been watered down until it has become pleasing to our ears. Why do you think the leaders of the church in the day of Jesus did not like what he had to say? Could it be that the words he spoke were not pleasing to their ears? The church is mandated to care for the people, and yet, alas, we do not. How many churches truly have a storehouse that meets the needs of the people? Wealth is rampant in some, while those who worship in the same building go to bed hungry. The cattle mill about because there is no one to care for them. They are hungry, because the wealth has been stored outside of God’s will. The sheep, as we know the Lord calls his people, are hungry and suffer punishment due to the lack of the preaching of the true word of God and lack of true leadership.
When we fail to tell truth, scripture says the rocks and the hills will cry out. The beasts of the field cry out because we do not share the living water. The pastures where believers should graze are burned up. The judgment of God is to come upon his people. Where is the joy and the gladness among God’s people? We mourn because we do not have. What is it that we do not have? For many of us, we mourn over the lack of material wealth in our lives. We long to have huge herds of cattle, such as the leaders of old had. We long to have our territories increased, and yet we do not care for the territory and the peoples God has already entrusted to us. We want an easy life, not the life of a warrior of God. The trees have been burned; there is no fruit. We hunger, and yet we look in the wrong places for food. There is only one remedy for God’s people and that is to turn around, go the other way, and seek his face and his ways. We must do this quickly before his judgment comes upon these lands. We cannot continue to live in direct opposition to the Lord Almighty lest we endure his judgment.
Father, I beg of you to open our ears and our eyes to your truth. Lord, remove us from this pleasing gospel that is not in accordance with your true word. Father, in Jesus name teach us to be the responsible church that you have mandated us to be. Lord, in Jesus name, you guide us back to you. Father, I do not wish to endure your judgment, and yet I know that I do not live all the things you would have me to live. Return me to my first love, Lord Jesus. Do not let me or those who love you fall away. I know that your word says the falling away must come, but Lord, restore us to you. As you did for the Israelites, return us to you. Rebuild the storehouses of God. Cause the grass to grow. Take the seeds from beneath the clods of sod so that they may grow. Lord, in Jesus name, I cry out to you on the behalf of myself and those whom you have called, that you restore us to you, amen.
All rights reserved: Amy Seelbach
To be added to the devotionals mailings, click on the button below.
