Joel 1:11–12 (ESV) —
11 Be ashamed, O tillers of the soil;
wail, O vinedressers,
for the wheat and the barley,
because the harvest of the field has perished.
12 The vine dries up;
the fig tree languishes.
Pomegranate, palm, and apple,
all the trees of the field are dried up,
and gladness dries up
from the children of man.
NOTE: The locusts
had destroyed the land. The resources for wine, bread, and dishes of fruit were
gone. Food is one of the blessings of life that God created to be enjoyed. The
flavor of delicacies cooked correctly with just the right mixtures of seasoning
and herbs is like a master artist's painting or a hike into a beautiful park.
They are memories enjoyed, remembered, and discussed for years later. But there
would be no good memories for a while. Finding any food to survive would be
difficult. Those things that provided gladness to the children of man were gone
… for a time. Why? Because the nation forgot God. Because the worship of God
was a formality (religion) and not the daily experience of hearts in touch with
the savior. That is the case in many
churches today. We have many people with knowledge of the bible but with no
real change inside. People have not really experienced the life changing power
of the Holy Spirit coming into their heart and completely transforming their
life. If they had, they would long to meet with the Savior in the word daily.
The real blessing of life, a relationship with God, has dried up in their
hearts, if it ever existed.
PRAYER: Father, use
this time to cause us to reexamine our true relationship with you. Have we
really put our faith in your son, Jesus Christ? Have we really asked Jesus into
our hearts? Have we really experience the life changing transformation that comes
when we believe and your Holy Spirit enters our heart? Oh, I pray we would
before it is too late.
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