Joel 1:15-19
September 6th, 2006 by Stephen
“Alas for the day! for the day of the LORD is at hand, and as a destruction from the Almighty shall it come. … 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.”
–Joel 1:15-19
Do we fear the Day of the Lord?
The day of the Lord will be a great and terrible day, when justice is poured forth and God will vindicate his name amongst the nations.
He will also draw his elect unto himself, and we shall know his love and his great mercy.
For this reason, you would expect all Christians to long for the day of his coming. Nevertheless, more often then not (when we are honest with ourselves) the Day fills us with great fear. We fear for relatives who do not know God. We fear the great distress of the last days, but most of all we fear that God will find us unprepared.
Jesus tells the story of the returning bridegroom, recorded in Luke. We are told that those who are prepared for his return when he comes will be blessed, but those who are not prepared will be cursed. Often this parable is used to stir us up to excessive guilt, leading us to be unsure of whether we really have merited salvation, but that was not Christ’s intent. We are all saved by grace and not by deeds done by ourselves in righteousness. However, Jesus did tell this story with a serious point in view.
We are called to do deeds worthy of repentance. We are called to bear fruit within our lives. Those Christians who fall short will still be saved, but as through the flames. How sad it will be for those people when they stand before the Lord, and he says “what did you do with the resources that I gave you.” And they turn to him and say “Lord, I knew your way was difficult, so I hid the resources and rested in my salvation, knowing that you would take me anyway”.
What will be their reward for their service I wonder?
I don’t know what rewards there will be in heaven, but I know that I would not want to be in that position before my Creator, Saviour and Judge on that day. I would rather follow his commandments as I find them in his word. I would rather seek his kingdom on earth, and know what it is to take up my cross and follow him.
When revival comes, it too will be a time when we cannot rest easy in our churches, comfortable in our salvation. We will be stirred up in such a way that we will have to either follow Christ, or else turn from him.
Revival times are not easy times. Revival times are times when Christians are required to live their beliefs. They are required to follow Christ in every way. They are also times when we will know God’s presence amongst us, and that one factor should make us hope for those times more then anything else. If we do not covet the presence of God amongst us then we need him all the more.
What then, shall we still fear the Day of the Lord? If so then you will probably fear revival too. If you are afraid that you would be unready on that Day then you are probably also afraid of the commitment to Christ that is required in times of revival.
Shall we not pray for revival then? If it is such a great and terrible day then why seek it?
Tell me, if you were in the Garden with Adam and Eve, would you still be hiding from God?
Through Christ’s sacrifice on the Cross we have the privelege to walk once more with God. Shall we allow the fear of personal holiness keep us from Him? Shall we hide in the bushes of complacency, or shall we seek God where he may be found?
