While studying the topic of the Day of the Lord in Joel this morning, I was reminded that for some people some of what we read in Joel is already happening.
Some of the events mentioned in Joel are the day-to-day experiences of people living in conflicts throughout the world.
Alas for the day!
For the day of the Lord is near,
and as destruction from the Almighty it comes.
Is not the food cut off
before our eyes,
joy and gladness
from the house of our God? (Joel 1.15-16)
The war in Sudan receives little attention in American media. However, that doesn’t make it any less real for those living through the conflict between two personalities vying for power in their nation.
These are the headlines of a “Reuters” story: Sudan’s displaced millions struggle to survive as the economy seizes up.
They face malnutrition, floods, and scorpions as they depend for survival on handouts and meager aid relief, the generosity of host communities stretched increasingly thin.
More than 5.25 million of Sudan’s 49 million people have been uprooted since the fighting erupted, according to U.N. figures. Over 1 million of those have crossed into neighboring countries, but more than 4.1 million have stayed in Sudan, where they have come under increasing financial pressure.
The nearly two-year-long war in Ukraine has had a devastating impact. For the people of Ukraine, incomes have plummeted. Poverty in the country soared from 5.5% of the population to 24.2% in 2022, according to the World Bank. The war has thus pushed 7.1 million more people into poverty, undoing 15 years of progress.
We have yet to see the full implications of the impact of the war between Israel and Hamas on human life and sustainability.
Intercession
One man said, “God, the waves are so big and my boat is so small.” That’s how I feel when I look at the issues that I’ve just outlined.
What do we do when the waves of this world are incredibly large and the boat of abilities is so small? We pray. Joel brought the issues to the Lord in prayer.
To you, O Lord, I cry,
for fire has devoured
the pastures of the wilderness,
and flames have burned
all the trees of the field. (Joel 1.19)
I greatly appreciate the fact that the Bible describes prayer as a “cry.” There are times when the only thing we can do is cry.
Praise God, He hears our cries, our broken hearts, our sorrow, and our grief more profoundly than eloquently worded prayers.
I particularly appreciate Paul’s insights about our vulnerability in prayer.
Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness, for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with groanings too deep for words (Romans 8.26).
Paul points out that not only do we not know how to fix the problems of the world, but we also don’t even know how to pray about them.
However, the Holy Spirit does know, and when we trust the Spirit, He cries within our hearts, interceding on our behalf for the issues the world faces.
Many heroes of faith are ordinary people, just like us. One significant action they took, which we too can imitate, is prayer.
I encourage you to stay aware of global events and join, hopefully, millions in praying for God’s will in our broken world.
As I often mention, I use the Lord’s Prayer as a template for addressing God. When I’m uncertain of what to say, this prayer becomes the ideal way to intercede for the world’s needs.
I invite you to join me in this practice.
YouTube Video
Rudy Ross and I discuss this passage on YouTube today. It is on the Bob Spradling channel.
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