Joel 1:12-14 - Drawing near to God in hard times

Scripture:

Joel 1:12-14
12 The vine dries up
And the fig tree fails;
The pomegranate, the palm also, and the apple tree,
All the trees of the field dry up.
Indeed, rejoicing dries up
From the sons of men.

13 Gird yourselves with sackcloth
And lament, O priests;
Wail, O ministers of the altar!
Come, spend the night in sackcloth
O ministers of my God,
For the grain offering and the drink offering
Are withheld from the house of your God.

14 Consecrate a fast,
Proclaim a solemn assembly;
Gather the elders
And all the inhabitants of the land
To the house of the Lord your God,
And cry out to the Lord.
NASU


Thoughts:

In these verses, we see the proper response to hardship:  prayer and recommitment (verses 13-14). 

This is the exact opposite of what our flesh wants to do!  We often want to feel obstinate toward God when hard times come.  We may even try to blame Him for them.  It's tragic the number of Christians who are taken down in their faith, even walking away from the Lord, because of their discouragement over trials that come into their lives.

Instead, we should draw near to Him, especially in hard times.  No matter how or why our circumstances came about, the Lord wants to use them to deepen our walk with Him.  His desire is always to draw us near, never to push us away.


Prayer:

Lord, let me have a sensitive heart towards You.  I pray in times that adversity comes my way, I will draw close to You, looking for what You are doing in the situation and how You are wanting to use it to sanctify me. 

Thank You for Your incredible heart that always desires good things for me, even when my circumstances don't look so good.

Amen

Scripture quotations taken from the NASB.