Author: Lisa Groen
Joel 2:12-13a reads, “Yet even now,” declares the Lord, “Return to Me with all your heart, And with fasting, weeping and mourning; 13 And rend your heart and not your garments.” Now return to the Lord your God,…”
Here is yet another Biblical account of fasting, weeping, and mourning going hand in hand for God’s people. It is interesting that not all Biblical accounts of these come with a prophet or with God CALLING his people to fast, but Joel 2 does. When a biblical call is given by a prophet or directly from God to a group or an individual, it usually is done with the idea that those who are called to some task, or to God, will be brought somewhere God will chose, or will go somewhere God will chose, simply by following the call, and simultaneously are told to exit or leave a place, leave their life of sin, or let go of some desired circumstance, environment, belief or tradition.
In the case of the call of the fast in Joel 2, the options for God’s people are clear. Joel sets the stage with the prophecy about the circumstances surrounding the day of the Lord. Joel 2 sounds like a judgement from God falling on all of the earth. Indeed, it is. But Joel 1-2 sets the reader up with by allowing some blindness about what the reasons are for the worldwide judgement. There is no mention of anyone’s sin in Joel 1 or 2, and so logically we are not given the tools to “assign the blame or the cause” for the destruction in Joel 1 & 2 on anyone specifically, nor for any sin or group of sins, specifically. The on-purpose design I believe given by God in the book of Joel is to get the reader to think about and search for what could possibly be the reason for the judgement of God and the day of the Lord—the terror, the crops dying, the seeds withering, the flocks going hungry, the invasion of the army of locusts, widespread destruction, and the fire burning behind them and before them…(to mention a few of the judgements in Joel 1-2). With nothing but emergencies happening, we are given Joel 2:12-13a “Yet even now,” declares the Lord, “Return to Me with all your heart, And with fasting, weeping and mourning; 13 And rend your heart and not your garments.” Now return to the Lord your God.”
“Return to Me with all your heart” tells the reader they must leave something behind and go towards the Lord. It tells us those who hear Joel’s prophecy were once following the Lord, and must return. And the way it is written by not mentioning specific sins in Joel 1-2 allows for the individual to meet with God and to hear God personally speak to him or her, or remind them of scripture that points to sin, as they fast, weep and mourn for what to leave behind and what it will take to return to God. In this way it is only with following the call to fasting, weeping, and mourning that these things become the light switch that will illuminate God’s truth for God’s people and begin to give them insight as to what to repent of and for how to return to the Lord.
The phrase “Yet even now…” speak volumes to us today to answer the call to fast, weep, and mourn, for our sins and for the sins of the God’s people and for the whole land around us. If we have reason to think we need not fast, Joel chapters 1-2 breaks apart every reason to think this way, because the day of the Lord has not yet happened. Until we see the blessings of Joel 2:13-14, 17-32 come to pass and unfold before our eyes, which appear to be the results of God’s people responding to Him, we have every reason to fast, and weep and mourn and to seek to return to the Lord, and to seek God that others around us in the church and in the world would be enabled to return to the Lord as well.
The prayer is a little longer today as I wanted to cover a lot of bases and holiday issues.
Prayer:
Dear Lord, as we know you are Sovereign, and that the day of the Lord will come, and that you have planned it, and that destruction will come with it, but you have given us and countless people the wisdom from the book of Joel. And you are wonderfully Sovereign and yet allow the space of time between Joel’s writings and the day of the Lord to encourage your people to seek you with all of our hearts. You are Sovereign and you will have your way and you do not enjoy the destruction of the wicked, and you “take no pleasure in the death of the wicked” (Eze 18:23, 33:11) and there are blessings in the latter half of Joel 2 that will Sovereignly come as your people seek you. But you say in Joel 2:14 “Who knows whether He will not turn and relent and leave a blessing behind Him…” so you call us to do our part and fast, weep, and mourn, and return to you. Please work with our humanity as we seek you. You never call us to a pursuit of no purpose. Dear Lord, may your purposes of the call in Joel for us to fast, weep and mourn and to return to You, with all of our hearts be fulfilled as we draw near to you and cry out to you. Give us grace to fast, weep and mourn and grace to return to you individually and for the people around us with all of our hearts, as you reveal things to us to repent of and also to those in our land around us, Oh Lord, as we seek you today. And as we seek you may we be refreshed and renewed and though this time of consecration may you open the doors for ministry opportunities be opened. Strengthen us in the opportunities that we now have, and for the assignments you have given us.
Keep growing in the Word! LG
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