I Will Pour Out My Spirit
Devotions on Joel 2:12-13, 28-29
Monday, I Will Pour Out My Spirit
“Yet even now, says the Lord” (Joel 2:12a).
Our lives are filled with missed opportunities. Some of those opportunities will never present themselves to us again. Many people grieve over not having said, “I love you,” one last time to someone who died. Often we regret not having said, “Thank you,” for a gift we received, or a word of encouragement we could have shared. The opportunity to repent, however, never expires.
Through their history, the People of Israel had received multiple invitations to repent and return to living in a relationship with the Lord, Most of those invitations they ignored. The ones to which they responded were soon forgotten as they returned to their rebellious ways. Still, the Lord never stopped offering the People of Israel the opportunity to return to God. “Yet even now,” said the Lord.
Like the Israelites, we find ourselves rebellious and wandering. There are times when we feel that we have run out of chances to return and renew our relation with the Lord. The words of the prophet Joel, spoken so many centuries ago to the Israelites, are words spoken to us today. “Yet even now, says the Lord.” God stands to welcome us with open arms.
Lord, we give you thanks and praise for your steadfast love and unconditional forgiveness. Amen.
Tuesday, I Will Pour Out My Spirit
“Return to me” (Joel 2:12b)
We are challenged by the path that lies ahead of us. Its destination, we anticipate, will be glorious—fortune and perhaps fame. At the very least, we hope it will contain meaning and purpose. The path, though, contains many unknowns—perhaps several risks and dangers. “Take courage,” we are told. “Don’t fear.” “You can do it.”
The road back may take more strength, determination and courage than the road before us. That path calls for humility. It also takes strength and courage to confess our self-centeredness and selfishness, and to admit that we have hurt people whom we have loved. The road is scary, too. It carries with it the possibility that we will be rejected and cast aside.
“Return to me,” invites the Lord. Our time away may have been long or short. Our sins great or perhaps small. We fear God’s wrath and condemnation. Yet, when we do return we discover, like all who have gone before us, God’s love. Every day the Lord gives us the same invitation.
O Lamb of God, [we] come, [we] come. With many a conflict, many a doubt, Fightings and fears within, without, O Lamb of God, [we] come, [we] come. Amen. (Songwriters: Alice Parker, Bradbury)
Wednesday, I Will Pour Out My Spirit
“Rend your hearts and not your clothing” (Joel 2:13a).
Ken Anderson silently groaned as the van pulled into the retreat center’s parking lot. He and his wife, Karen were going to participate in a Marriage Enrichment Weekend. Karen was excited about it. Ken was not. Ken did not look forward to a weekend of lectures telling you what you should have done, small groups sessions where you had to tell how you had flubbed up, all punctuated with group hugs. Still, Ken did want to make Karen happy, so he decided to play along.
Sometime during the weekend Ken’s attitude changed. He began to participate rather than just play along. The effect the weekend had on his marriage and his relationship with Karen was life changing. When the weekend was over, Ken was thankful that he had been talked into it.
It is easy for us to fake it as followers of Jesus. We say the right words, do what is expected of us—we play along—and everyone is fooled. This is not what the Lord wants from us, however. God wants us to enter into a life changing experience. The ancient Jewish Shema expresses what God wants from God’s people. “Here O Israel, the Lord your God is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all of your heart, mind, soul and strength.”
Lord, move deep within us and accomplish your purpose in us. Amen.
Thursday, I Will Pour Out My Spirit
“Return to the Lord, your God, for he is gracious and merciful” (Joel 2:13b).
Over the school’s loudspeaker a student is called to the principal’s office. As that student makes his way to the principal, he imagines that he will be reprimanded for something. Yet, he is a good student who has never done anything wrong. A worker is summoned to her supervisor’s office. Instead of thinking that her supervisor wants to praise her, she imagines herself being scolded for poor work. There is no reason for these thoughts to race through either the student’s or the worker’s minds, but they do.
A popular belief for Christians is that when we come face to face with God, God will be sitting on God’s judgment throne. There we will encounter God’s wrath and condemnation. Though a popular belief, it is not a true belief.
When we come to God in prayer, we do not encounter an angry God, but rather a God of love. There are times when we enter God’s presence to confess our sin. We are not faced with God’s wrath. Instead we experience God’s overwhelming grace and unconditional forgiveness. God invites God’s people to renew their relationship with God and realized that their God is a God of love and to receive God’s grace and mercy.
Thank you, Lord, for your grace and mercy that we experience in our daily lives. Amen.
Friday, I Will Pour Out My Spirit
“I will pour out my spirit on all flesh” (Joel 2:28a).
The Holy Spirit was once thought to be given to important people—kings, priests and prophets. The Spirit was understood to be both a sign of God’s blessing and also that God was going to work through the individual and use that person to God’s glory. Since God’s Spirit rested on only a select few that meant that everyone else could sit back and watch. They could go about the important business of making a living and raising a family.
The proclamation that God would pour the Holy Spirit on everyone was earth shattering and life changing. There would no longer be a “them and us,” or haves and have nots. Everyone would be able to see themselves as blessed by God. More importantly everyone would be able to realize that God was going to use them for God’s glory.
The Prophet Joel’s good news broke into the ancient world and changed everything. It breaks into our world too and does the same. We are blessed and our neighbors in every corner of the world are blessed, also. AND all of us are being used to God’s glory.
Come Holy Spirit and have your way with us. Empower us to do your will and serve God to God’s glory. Amen.
Saturday, I Will Pour Out My Spirit
“Your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions” (Joel 2:28b).
Fourteen year-old Lamar thought he had some great ideas for the family’s basement remodeling project. His parents, though, didn’t pay any attention to his ideas. He was too young they explained and didn’t understand all that was involved in remodeling.
After they turned seventy-five, the kids sidelined Carlos and Maria from most of the family decisions. The next generation didn’t think they fully understood the fast paced world, because the couple would rather talk than text, and struggled with Zoom.
Often the younger and the older are marginalized. They are too young and inexperienced or too old and “out-of-it.” Though they may be sidelined by society, they are included in God’s grand plan to bring in the kingdom of God. Our age can no longer be used as an excuse for our inaction, or out perceived usefulness. Neither can our sexual preference, gender identity, height, weight, skin color, or national origin. We are all useful in God’s plan.
We give you thanks and praise, Lord, that everyone is useful in your kingdom. Amen.
Sunday, I Will Pour Out My Spirit
“Even on the male and female slaves, in those days, I will pour out my spirit” (Joel 2:29).
In the movie, “Home Alone,” Kevin and his neighbor, Old Man Marley, meet at church during a Christmas choir rehearsal. They strike up a conversation and begin to talk about their families. Old Man Marley shares that he and his son had an argument and haven’t spoken to each other in years. Kevin encourages Old Man Marley to overcome his fear of rejection and to call his son. It is sage advice. At the end of the movie, viewers see Old Man Marley welcoming his son and his son’s family to his home.
We are sometimes surprised at whom God uses to touch our lives and to share God’s love and grace with us. There are times when it is an eight year-old child. At other times, perfect strangers are messengers from God. The people who heard the Prophet Joel’s words would have been surprised to hear that God’s Spirit was even going to be poured out on male and female slaves.
As followers of Jesus, it is important for us to remind ourselves that God works in mysterious ways. The Lord delights in surprising us. Rather than scoff, we are invited to appreciate those surprising times and give thanks for them. We can also rejoice and anticipate that there will be times when we will be the surprise messenger in the life of another person.
Lord, surprise us and use us to surprise others. Amen.