The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my mind and heart in Joel 2:11-13,
"The Lord thunders at the head of his army; his forces are beyond number, and mighty are those who obey his command. The day of the Lord is great; it is dreadful. Who can endure it? 'Even now,' declares the Lord, 'return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning.' Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity."
Israel had turned from their God. To get their attention, the Lord sent a devastation on the land that all would suffer from. He called on his people to listen and return to him. The Lord is like that. He has his own agenda, and when folks cease to move in the direction of fulfilling that agenda, he brings whatever course-correction is necessary. It is his prerogative.
The psalmist says, "I know that the Lord is great, that our Lord is greater than all gods. The Lord does whatever pleases him, in the heavens and on the earth, in the seas and all their depths." Psalm 135:5-6. We also read, "Our God is in heaven; he does whatever pleases him." Psalm 115:3. What we learn from Joel is that when God's people cease to further his agenda, he will do what he sees fit to put things back on track. He says in Isaiah 55:10-11, "As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it."
Paul reminds us that as our Creator, God has the prerogative to do whatever it is he sees fit. To someone objecting to the Lord pursuing his own ends, he says, "But who are you, O man, to talk back to God? 'Shall what is formed say to him who formed it, "Why did you make me like this?"', Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for noble purposes and some for common use?" Romans 9:20-21.
While we may have our own desires, our own agendas, the Lord has his. Where ours conflict or impede God's pursuit of his agenda, he will take action. God is sovereign and what he has revealed to us is that he can and will be decisive, quick and thoroughly effective at bringing into our lives whatever is required to bring about what he pursues. He is deadly effective in the pursuit of his agenda.
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share your thoughts of worship with us from your Bible reading today. We'd love to hear from you!
Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com
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