Scripture: Joel 2.  

OBSERVATION
(What is God saying here?)

Joel 2:28 (NLT)

28 “Then, after doing all those things, I will pour out my Spirit upon all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy. Your old men will dream dreams, and your young men will see visions.

APPLICATION
(How Can I apply what God is saying here to my circumstances today?)

In the Old Testament there are so many stories of how God destroyed nations because of their sin. In the books of the prophets there is so much prophesied about how awful it will be when the Lord returns to take His people home to be with Him. The book of Joel, and particularly chapter 2 is one that talks about the locusts that will devour those who do not know/have not accepted the Lord. However, as to bring hope to Christians, Joel prophesied in verse 28 that Christians needn’t get discouraged about all that will happen, because when all these things have been done, God will then pour out His Spirit on all those remaining and they will see great things happening such as: their children prophesying; their older men dreaming dreams and younger men seeing visions. Friends, I don’t know about you, but this brings encouragement and excitement to me! Because even though I know Jesus personally and look forward to being a part of this group that will be blessed in this way, yet I can only imagine how discouraged I will be to see loved ones that I have prayed for salvation, taken away in destruction because of their hardness of heart. I will need all the encouragement that I could possibly get, and I believe that God identifies with that and placed this verse here to encourage me, that in spite of all that will go down, there is a peace and a joy that will come to me because of my faith in Him and my ongoing commitment to acknowledge Him in all aspects of my life every day. How is it with you, friend? Have you accepted this Lord of mine and know Him in a very personal way? Will you be spared from destruction and join us around the throne with my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ? If you do not have that assurance today, please write to me using the email below and I will gladly pray with you and help steer you in the right direction.

PRAYER
(With God’s help, what am I going to do differently today because He said it?)

Lord God, thank you for the nuggets of encouragement You place before us to remind us of the joy that we can look forward to on the day that You take us away to be with You. I sense even more urgency on behalf of my family and friends that have chosen to ignore Your call on their life, and plead with You today to soften their hearts once again so that they may hear Your Word afresh and anew and that they will be receptive to Your call. Thank You for loving us enough to care about and show us the way to heaven!

 

**Words underlined may be a hyperlink to a song that God laid on my heart while sharing this devotional this morning. Click it and be blessed by the song, like I was when I listened to it! …… I would be overjoyed to have the opportunity to pray with you about a need in your life that may, or may not have been highlighted by this Nugget today. Why not drop me a note and tell me about it? You may email me at:
nuggetsfromgodsword@yahoo.com
**