Today's Ruminating in the Word of God: Surely he has done great things!

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 2:20b-27,

 

"Surely he has done great things. Be not afraid, O land; be glad and rejoice. Surely the Lord has done great things. Be not afraid, O wild animals, for the open pastures are becoming green. The trees are bearing their fruit; the fig tree and the vine yield their riches. Be glad, O people of Zion, rejoice in the Lord your God, for he has given you the autumn rains in righteousness. He sends you abundant showers, both autumn and spring rains, as before. The threshing floors will be filled with grain; the vats will overflow with new wine and oil. 'I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten— the great locust and the young locust, the other locusts and the locust warm — my great army that I sent among you. You will have plenty to eat, until you are full, and you will praise the name of the Lord your God, who has worked wonders for you; never again will my people be shamed. Then you will know that I am in Israel, that I am the Lord your God, and that there is no other; never again will my people be shamed.'"

 

The account Joel provides is one of massive devastation from the Lord upon his people by an invasion of locusts which strip the land bare. It results in formidable destruction and famine throughout the land, creating untold misery and suffering. The Lord tells his people, "Even now... return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning." This provides us the cause for the Lord's action against his people: they had turned their backs on their God.

 

In the midst of the judgment against his people, the Lord speaks of a time when he will bring deliverance and blessing. A time of fruitfulness and refreshment, a time of restoration when he will repay his people for the years taken by the locusts.

 

All of this causes me to think of what our perspective will be in the resurrection-- for those of us who have taken our refuge in the Lord. Coming from a lost world that has turned its back on its Creator, struggling under the heavy weight of God's condemnation and judgment, there will be a time when we find ourselves wonderfully blessed by our God. A time of relief from this fallen world with its trials and difficulties, sickness, pain and death. A time of refreshment, a time of new life, a time when we will reflect and say, "Surely our God has done great things!"

 

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