Joel 2:6 Nations convulse1 before them; all the people’s faces are drained of redness.
Joel 2:7 They attack like warriors attack; they scale walls like men of war do. Each marches on his own path, and they do not change their course.
Joel 2:8 They do not push each other; each marches on his own path. They dodge the arrows, never stopping.
Joel 2:9 They rush into the city; they run on the wall; they climb into the houses; they enter through the windows like thieves.
until the storms are over
Time and distance might rob us of the effect this passage intends. The sheer terror of being in the path of a disciplined, invincible invading army is enough to drain the color from anyone. The nation knows that there is nowhere to hide. They knew how invasive and all-consuming the locust storms had been. Now, the prophet tells them that the next invasions will be enemy warriors! What is more – they will be unstoppable.
What do you do when God’s news is bad news like this? Pray for protection, survival of the nation, and strength to stay with God until the storms are over.
Lord, we ask you to bless us and our nations and families. But if there is disaster in our destiny, we choose to faithfully endure our fate, trusting you to make your good, pleasing and perfect will evident at last.
Joel 2:3 A fire consumes in front of them, and behind them a flame devours. The land in front of them is like the garden of Eden, but behind them, it is like an open wasteland; there is no escape from them.
Joel 2:4 Their appearance is like that of horses, and they run like war horses.
Joel 2:5 They pounce on the tops of the mountains. Their sound is like the sound of chariots, like the sound of fiery flames consuming stubble, like a numerous army lined up for war.
six minutes
When I was a soldier, someone told me that since we were stationed very near the enemy border, my unit was expected to last about six minutes. Our objective was to take the immediate onslaught with the hope that reinforcing units would be able to muster and engage the enemy after we were all dead. I don’t think that information did much for my brigade’s morale.
I can imagine feeling similar thoughts if I had been a citizen of Joel’s nation, They had little hope of survival. If Joel was right, they were going to be consumed by the enemy.
Lord, we do not know what our fate is in this life. But we are grateful that you have promised us a resurrection and a permanent life with no threat of disaster.
Joel 2:1 Blow a ram’s horn bugle1 in Zion; sound an alarm on my holy mountain! Let all the people living in the land tremble, because the day of Yahveh is coming; in fact, it is near –
Joel 2:2 a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and total darkness, like the dawn spreading over the mountains; a substantial2 and numerous people appears, such as has not existed from a past age and I will not do it again until the years of generation after generation have lapsed.
when the dominoes start falling
This was not what the nation wanted to hear from its prophet. They had already experienced a terrible four-stage locust invasion, and they wanted relief. The last thing they needed was an invasion of warriors too numerous to count. But Joel tells them to start blowing their Shofar, because that is exactly what is going to happen.
Sometimes the bad news happens in bunches. Sometimes one disaster is just the first domino in a series of unfortunate events that rip through your life with no time to repair any of the damages. When that starts happening, remember that God always knows what you are experiencing. He has a plan, and even if that plan does not call for your immediate relief, it is still best to trust him.
Lord, help us to trust you when the dominoes start falling.
Joel 1:15 Tragedy on that day! You see, the day of Yahveh is near and will come as a destructive storm from the Almighty.
Joel 1:16 Hasn’t the food been cut off before our eyes, joy and happiness from the house of our God?
Joel 1:17 The seeds lie shriveled in their casings. The storehouses are in ruin, and the granaries are broken down, because the grain has dried up.
Joel 1:18 How the animals moan! The herds of cattle wander in confusion since they have no pasture. Even the flocks of sheep and goats are held guilty.1
Joel 1:19 I call to you, Yahveh, because fire has consumed the pastures of the open country,2 and flames have burned up all the trees of the orchard.
Joel 1:20 Even the wild animals cry out to you, because the river beds are dried up, and fire has consumed the pastures of the open country.
disaster and destiny
There is a lot of good news in Joel, but we have not yet gotten to it. Joel is predicting a serious disaster right when his nation is suffering the after effects of a terrible locust invasion and its corresponding drought. His language pictures the devastation in such vivid detail that it would be hard to deny it, since it was already starting to happen. While you are in such a state, it helps to find meaning in it, even if you have to wait for relief.
Joel’s good news comes after all this bad news because all these terrible things he predicted came true. That fact established him as a true prophet. So, when he later predicts a nation-wide revival where God’s Breath is poured out on this same nation, his words were credible. It would take centuries for that prophecy to be fulfilled, but people had a reason to believe it would.
Lord, we trust your words, because they have already been proven reliable.
Joel 1:13 Wrap yourselves in sackcloth and passionately demonstrate your sorrow, you priests; yell, you ministers of the altar. Come and spend the night in sackcloth, you ministers of my God, because grain and drink offerings are withheld from the house of your God.
Joel 1:14 Commit to1 a sacred fast; proclaim an assembly! Gather the elders and all the ones living in the land at the house of Yahveh your God, and cry out to Yahveh.
worship disrupted
A terrible blow has been delivered to the nation, and now the prophet has gotten their attention. His words to them are not ignorant of what they are going through. But he does not try to sugar coat their painful pill. No, if anything, he is desperately trying to get the nation to understand God’s point of view. The glory of their God is at stake. The indicators of the blessings the people are usually experiencing include the grain and drink offerings. But the harvest and vineyards have been wiped out. The people are ready for a little religion, because their lives and livelihoods have been disrupted. But what they need is a lot of religion, because worship itself has been disrupted. They need more than restoration. They need revival, and it is going to take a night in sackcloth and a sacred fast.
Lord, we want more than just a little more religion. We need lives focused on you and your glory.
Joel 1:7 It1 has desolated2 my grapevine and splintered my fig tree. It has stripped off its bark and thrown it away; its branches have turned white.
Joel 1:8 Grieve like a young woman wrapped3 in sackcloth, mourning for the husband whom she married young.
Joel 1:9 Grain and drink offerings have been cut off from the house of Yahveh; the priests, who are ministers of Yahveh, mourn.
Joel 1:10 The fields are destroyed; the land grieves; in fact, the grain is destroyed; the new wine is dried up; and the fresh oil fails.
Joel 1:11 Be ashamed, you farmers, yell, you vintners, over the wheat and the barley, because the harvest of the field has perished.
Joel 1:12 The grapevine is dried up, and the fig tree is withered; the pomegranate, the date palm, and the apple – all the trees of the orchard – have withered. In fact, human joy has dried up.
invitation to grieve
After suffering a devastating four phase locust invasion, the nation wants a chance to recover. But the prophet tells them that recovery is not yet on the menu. Instead, Joel invites the nation to yell, grieve, mourn and to be ashamed. The natural disaster was just to get their attention. An invading army is coming.
Jesus pronounced a blessing upon those who are mourning now. Mourners are sensitive to what God has to what God has to say, and can respond to the tragedy that is predicted.
Lord, give us your eyes to see, and your heart to grieve.
1the invading nation – depicted as a lioness in 1:6
Joel 1:5 Wake up, you drunkards, and weep; yell,1 all you wine drinkers, over the sweet wine, because it has been cut off from your mouth.
Joel 1:6 You see, a nation has invaded my land, powerful and numberless; its teeth are the teeth of a lion, and it has the jaws of a lioness.
from locusts to lions
If we only knew what the future might hold, we would shake ourselve free of our lethargy and self-centeredness. Joel spoke to a nation which had not considered the possibility of being conquered. The locusts were only the beginning, lions were coming. But Judah was not ready. The people had considered themselves invasion proof. Perhaps they thought God would protect them.
Notice that Joel uses the past tense here. He speaks of the wine as alraeady having been cut off, and the nation has already invaded. God has already experienced their future, and he sends his prophet to warn them. The scriptures can be that for us. They can warn us of things that will happen, or things that might. But it is up to us to wake up and get prepared.
There are some disasters we cannot avoid, but we can be prepared.
Joel 1:1 The word of Yahveh1 that came to Joel son of Pethuel:
Joel 1:2 Hear this, you elders; listen, all you who live2 in the land.3 Has anything like this ever happened in your days or in the days of your fathers?
Joel 1:3 Tell your children about it, and let your children tell their children, and their children the next generation.
Joel 1:4 What the recently mature locust4 has left, the winging stage locust5 has eaten; what the winging stage locust has left, the crawling stage locust6 has eaten; and what the crawling stage locust has left, the destroying locust7 has eaten.
things getting worse
Judah had been hit by a major natural disaster: a series of locust plagues that wiped out the nation’s economy and led to system-wide depression and famine. It was hard to imagine things getting any worse. But Joel does not ride into town with his white horse and tell everybody “there, there, everything is going to get better now.” No, Joel’s message is more like “You ain’t seen nothing yet.” The plague of locusts which came from the north is going to be followed by swarms of armies coming from the same direction. We know from history that those armies came from Assyria, then Babylon, the Persia, then Greece, then Rome.
Lord, we accept your plan for our lives, and we will not be daunted in our faith if things get worse. We have chosen to trust you no matter what.
Galatians 6:17 From now on, let no one cause me trouble, because I am bearing on my body the marks of Jesus.
Galatians 6:18 Brothers, the favor of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your breath. Amen.
miserable meansPaul’s closing words in Galatians carry the weight of a man who has suffered deeply, both physically and emotionally. When he says he bears “the marks of Jesus,” the reference may point to the literal scars of persecution—beatings, stonings, shipwrecks, imprisonments. But it may just as easily point to the invisible wounds: the betrayal, the abandonment, the heartbreak of watching congregations he birthed turn against him. Either interpretation fits the moment. Both kinds of wounds were real. And neither was right. A seasoned missionary, faithful and sacrificial, should not have had to endure such misery from the very people he served.
Yet the mystery of God’s work is that these very troubles became the soil from which the New Testament letters grew. If Paul’s ministry had been one uninterrupted victory after another—smooth church plants, grateful congregations, no opposition, no heartbreak—there would have been little need for the epistles. They were born out of conflict, confusion, disappointment, and pain. Galatians exists because a church went astray. Corinthians exists because a church fractured. Philippians exists because Paul was imprisoned. Romans exists because Paul had not yet been able to visit. Trouble shaped the apostle, and through him, shaped the Scriptures that now guide the church.
This does not make the suffering good in itself. It does not excuse the betrayal or minimize the injustice. But it does reveal something essential about the way God works. He does not wait for ideal circumstances. He does not require smooth paths. He brings truth, clarity, and revelation out of situations that feel wrong, unfair, or bewildering. Paul’s wounds became a blessing for generations of believers who would learn the gospel more deeply because he wrote from the crucible.
This pattern extends beyond Paul’s experience. When life does not work out as expected, when ministry becomes painful, when relationships fracture, when plans collapse, the instinct is to assume something has gone terribly wrong. Yet the witness of Galatians—and of Paul’s entire life—is that God’s plan includes even these moments. They become classrooms in which the deepest lessons are learned. They become the places where the Sacred Breath forms character, deepens faith, and reveals Christ.
The call is not to enjoy the misery but to remain open within it. Even through miserable means, God teaches, shapes, and prepares His people for a harvest that could not come any other way.
Galatians 6:11 See what large letters I am writing to you with my own hand.
Galatians 6:12 Those who want to make a good impression in the flesh – these would force you to be circumcised– but only to avoid being persecuted for the cross of Christ.
Galatians 6:13 You see, even the circumcised don’t keep the law themselves, but they want you to be circumcised in order to boast about your flesh.
Galatians 6:14 But my boasting is not going to happen except about the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. The world has been crucified to me by it, and I to the world.
Galatians 6:15 You see, neither being circumcised nor not being circumcised mean anything; what matters instead is a new creation.
Galatians 6:16 May peace come to all those who follow this standard, and mercy even to the Israel of God!
what matters insteadThe closing reflection of Galatians brings the entire letter into sharp focus. Paul has spent six chapters dismantling a false gospel, defending the true one, and pleading with the Galatians to return to the freedom they first received. But he ends by acknowledging something that remains true in every generation: the principles he teaches are far easier to admire than to practice. Debating doctrine is simpler than embodying the new creation. Arguing over what is “biblical” comes more naturally than living as people transformed by the cross.
The new creation reality Paul describes is not an abstract idea. It is a way of life shaped by the crucified and risen Christ. It requires humility, patience, and a willingness to let the Breath of God reshape instincts that have been formed by the flesh. It means allowing others to have different priorities without treating them as threats. It means refusing to divide over matters that are not central to the gospel. It means holding firm to the essentials while remaining generous and open‑handed with the non‑essentials.
Paul’s vision is not a call to silence or indifference. He assumes that believers will discuss, question, and even admonish one another. But such conversations must take place within the framework of unity, not rivalry. The cross has created a new family, and the new creation demands that this family learn to live together with grace. The essentials—Christ crucified, risen, and forming a new humanity—must remain immovable. Everything else must be held with humility.
For Paul, the cross and the new creation are inseparable. The cross is the place where the old world died, where the flesh was condemned, and where the powers that enslave were broken. The new creation is the life that emerges from that death—a life animated by the Sacred Breath, marked by love, and shaped by freedom. These are the essentials. These are the truths that define the people of God.
The challenge is real, but so is the promise. The new creation is not something believers must manufacture. It is something God has already begun. The call is to live in what Christ has accomplished, to let the Breath animate daily life, and to allow the cross to remain the center around which everything else turns. May that center hold steady, and may the new creation reality shape both individual lives and the life of every congregation.
Devotions 