Joel 1:19 O LORD, to thee will I cry: for the fire hath devoured the pastures of the wilderness and the flame hath burned all the trees of the field.
Our Response in Calamity
The prophet Joel described a plague of Biblical proportions in the land of Judah in the days before the Assyrian conquest. Joel says, “For a nation is come upon my land, strong, and without number, whose teeth are the teeth of a lion, and he hath the cheek teeth of a great lion.” This is not describing a nation of people, but a plague of locusts. These locusts were like little lions that devoured everything before them.
God was speaking through Joel to His wayward people about a plague of prophetic significance. Joel 2:11 says, “And the LORD shall utter his voice before his army.” This was both a judgment that was happening in Joel’s day and a judgment that would come in the future.
While not every calamity is a response of God to us, every calamity should be an opportunity for us to look to Him. From this account in the book of Joel we can learn how God would have us respond to is chastening in our lives. First of all, in verse 2 He says, “Hear this, ye old men.” God’s people were to hear His Word including those people honored with age. The older you get, the less inclined you may be to listen. With age it is easy to feel as if you have learned all there is to learn. Yet, whatever the calamity, we ought to respond with an open ear to God.
Second of all, verse 5 says, “Awake, ye drunkards.” Many people hear much, but listen to nothing. Their heart is closed. How much does a drunk profit from a prophet? How much would a drunk gain from hearing the Word of God? He would profit very little because he is drunk. None of us should be that way. We should not be so absorbed in our own lives that we can’t see what God is doing.
Third of all, verse 8 says, “Lament like a virgin girded with sackcloth for the husband of her youth.” Those who have broken fellowship with God by sin should lament just as a young wife bereaved of her husband. Israel had been separated from God, yet she weren’t paying attention because she seemed to be doing well. Yet anything is better than for a person to think he is sufficient without the help of God.
Finally, verse 11 says, “Be… ashamed, O ye husbandmen.” A farmer is proud of healthy dirt and beautiful plants. These are gifts from God. But Judah’s crop was dried up by the judgment of God. Now, not every calamity is a punishment of sin, but any time we know God is chastening us, we should respond in humility. That is why God’s people were told to lament and be ashamed.
We are living in a day when people seem to know no shame. They are not just doing what is wrong, they are proud of it. When we are doing wrong we should feel shame, and we will never change until we are ashamed of what is wrong.
Whether God is chastening us or we are simply experiencing one of the common difficulties of life, each trial should turn us toward God. Joel 1:14 says, “Cry unto the LORD”! God hears the heart and the cry of any humble heart who responds to calamity by looking to Him.