1:18 — How the beasts groan! The herds of cattle wander aimlessly because there is no pasture for them; even the flocks of sheep suffer.
How often have you heard it said, “What I do is no one’s business, so long as I don’t hurt anyone else”? The statement betrays a false assumption—that the consequences for what we do will not reach beyond us. However, sin always hurts others. When God judged Judah for her transgressions, He sent locusts that devoured all the fields. Joel questioned, “Has not food been cut off before our eyes?” (1:16). The destruction of grain throughout the land affected everyone—even the livestock. Likewise, our sin can mean hardship and desolation for generations to come (Ex. 34:6, 7; Deut. 5:9, 10; Num. 14:18; 2 Chr. 30:6–9; Ps. 78:8, 57; 106:6; Zech. 1:4), while our obedience can mean great blessings for our descendants (Gen. 17:5–8; 1 Kin. 15:11; 2 Kin. 18:1, 3; 2 Chr. 17:3; 34:1–3). What legacy will you leave those who follow you (Jer. 32:17–19)?
Answers to Life’s Questions
How can a good God allow suffering in a believer’s life?
Have you ever caught yourself wishing for “the good old days”? Most of us have. The truth is, however, if we had a chance to travel back to another time, we would find the same problems and trials that confront us now also existed back then. Trials come no matter who you are or what you do.
Suffering prepares and perfects us in a variety of ways. Pressure from without increases pressure within. We feel it as the darkness lingers, the pain increases, and the disappointment goes on and on.
In the spiritual realm, however, we do not have to yield to the mounting pressure. We can defuse it by placing it on the altar of God and allowing Him to handle our hurts.
Trials that go beyond our ability of control prove to us that we simply are not omnipotent, but God is. Suddenly, we become acutely aware of our need for Him and His eternal wisdom, which outranks our own. We need a Savior—Someone greater than our greatest fear, Someone who is able to meet all our needs. Only through His grace can we learn the truth concerning suffering: God uses it to help us experience His immense love.
Maybe you are facing a time of suffering, and you think the emotional pain is more than you can bear. Or perhaps you are dealing with a series of disappointments. Instead of becoming fearful—a frequent ploy of Satan to pull you away from the will of God—ask the Lord to show you what He is up to in your life.
The great preacher Charles Spurgeon wrote: “God knows that soldiers are to be made only in battle; they are not to be grown in peaceful times. We may grow the stuff of which soldiers are made; but warriors are really educated by the smell of powder, in the midst of whizzing bullets and roaring cannonades . . . Is He not developing in you the qualities of the soldier by throwing you into the heat of battle, and should you not use every application to come off conqueror?”
See the Life Principles Index for further study:
2:11 — Strong is he who carries out His word.
Our omnipotent Lord will use all of His power to fulfill every one of His promises. Not one of them will fail. That is why we can build our lives on His every word and obey Him completely. Because when we accept the call to carry out His commands, we know He will give us the power and wisdom to do so. God assumes full responsibility for our needs and the success of His plan when we obey Him.
What the Bible Says About
Brokenness, the Way to Blessing
No one enjoys experiencing emotional, physical, or spiritual afflictions. And it is difficult to understand how strength and blessing can result from adversity, even though they often do. Yet we seldom recognize the benefit of brokenness in the midst of our pain.
The apostle Paul faced discouragement and many intense trials, but he believed God was in control. Therefore, he placed his hope and faith in Jesus Christ. In 2 Corinthians he wrote, “We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body” (4:8–10).
Paul believed the trials in his life came with a purpose. He considered them tools in the hand of God, who reshaped, refined, and refocused his life so that it could better reflect the life of Christ, full of purpose and blessing.
Just like us, Paul fought with emotional and physical difficulties. He was forthright in his epistles about the trials he was enduring, but he also filled his letters with words of hope and the certainty of divine intervention. Paul often encouraged those who faced the agony of brokenness with reminders of God’s unfailing faithfulness and purpose (Rom. 8:18; 2 Cor. 1:3–10; 4:16–18; 12:7–10; Phil. 1:29, 30; 2:12–18; 3:7–12; 4:12, 13; Col. 1:24; 2 Tim. 1:8–10; 2:3; 3:10–12; 4:5–8). God’s work in your life may not appear to make sense in the beginning, but He knows what lies ahead in your life. He disciplines, guides, and directs, not to hem you in, but to place you in a better position to live a free and blessed life.
Understand that clinging to what you desire and think is right for your life can prolong the brokenness process. As a Christian, you must focus your heart on Christ and obey Him implicitly, which often means giving up what you think you want. Yet He knows what your heart truly needs. And although you may feel as though you are coming apart at the seams as you release your grip on certain goals and behaviors, if you will transfer your fear and anxiety to Jesus, something amazing will happen. Not only will you begin the process of transformation into the image of God’s Son, but you will also sense a greater strength growing within you.
See the Life Principles Index for further study:
15. Brokenness is God’s requirement for maximum usefulness.
Life Examples
Prophet of Revival
Little is known about the prophet Joel, who ministered to the southern kingdom of Judah. His entire personal history is stated in a single verse: “The word of the LORD that came to Joel, the son of Pethuel” (Joel 1:1).
Joel has been called “the prophet of religious revival.” His unwavering message to the people of Judah? Repentance must precede revival. Therefore, he told them, “‘Rend your heart and not your garments.’ Now return to the LORD your God, for He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, abounding in lovingkindness and relenting of evil” (Joel 2:13).
God does not delight in sending hardship, nor does He glory in calamity. But to bring a rebellious people—or a disobedient believer—to repentance, He will use trials if He has to. He wants to bless His people, not judge them, and if that takes serious measures, so be it.
See the Life Principles Index for further study:
26. Adversity is a bridge to a deeper relationship with God.
2:13 — “Rend your heart and not your garments.”
God is always after the heart, not mere outward religious expression (1 Sam. 15:22; Ps. 40:6; 51:16, 17; Is. 1:11–20; Jer. 7:22, 23; Hos. 6:6; Mark 12:33). He wants sincere prayer, not impressive oratory (Matt. 6:7). He wants genuine devotion, not self-righteous declarations (Luke 18:9–14). God wants your heart—your love, adoration, gratefulness, and obedience—because His highest priority for your life is a deep, intimate relationship with Himself.
2:14 — Who knows whether He will not turn and relent and leave a blessing behind Him?
God is under no obligation to show sinners His mercy, but since He delights in displaying “unchanging love” (Mic. 7:18), we can hope not only for pardon when we repent but even for a blessing.
2:29 — “Even on the male and female servants I will pour out My Spirit in those days.”
We live in the great day when God has poured out His Spirit on all believers in Christ, filling them and empowering them to serve Him in holiness and great joy (Rom. 8:11). God’s Holy Spirit comes to dwell in us in full measure at the point of salvation (John 7:39; 14:16–18, 26; 15:26; Rom. 8:9). However, a Spirit-filled believer is one who has surrendered himself or herself completely to the control of the Holy Spirit. We permit the Spirit to empower us in greater measure by submitting to God in obedience. Are you allowing the Lord to fill you today?
3:21 — I will avenge their blood . . . for the LORD dwells in Zion.
Despite His grace, despite His mercy, despite His love, if we continue to disobey God and reject His Word, we may reach a point of no return where His judgment inevitably falls (Gen. 15:16; Rev. 2:5). However, as believers, we can be encouraged that “the LORD dwells in Zion” (Joel 3:21). There is always hope for those who trust and obey the Lord. As Lamentations 3:31, 32 tells us, “The Lord will not reject forever, for if He causes grief, then He will have compassion according to His abundant lovingkindness.”