The Life of Faith: A Study of the Book of Joel

Introduction  October 29, 1929—also known as Black Tuesday.  On this date, share prices on the New York Stock Exchange completely collapsed, becoming a pivotal factor in the emergence of the Great Depression. Would completely altar history, and would be told for generations to come.  We look at these people in a special way—they learned to value what was truly important, a certain character about them.  When we open our Bibles to the little known book of Joel we discover a

Introduction 

October 29, 1929—also known as Black Tuesday. 

On this date, share prices on the New York Stock Exchange completely collapsed, becoming a pivotal factor in the emergence of the Great Depression.
Would completely altar history, and would be told for generations to come. 
We look at these people in a special way—they learned to value what was truly important, a certain character about them. 

When we open our Bibles to the little known book of Joel we discover a similar situation (Joel 1:2-3). 

What exactly has happened? (v. 4). 
A massive locust hoard has devastated the land and has created famine and fire (2:3). 
Absolutely devastating for an agrarian society—the Great Depression of their day. 

Yet, in a similar way to the Great Depression, this disaster would serve as a means of character formation, as God’s people see His glory and power in a fresh way and are drawn more closely to His Presence. 

We aren’t currently going through a Great Depression, or a devastating locust hoard, but that doesn’t mean your life hasn’t suffered great tragedy.
How does faith respond to such circumstances? When pain, anxiety, and absolute calamity come into your life, how do you respond to God? How do you think of Him? 

“The Life of Faith” 

Context 

As we mentioned, a locust hoard had devastated the land of Israel, yet might not understand the full implications of this. 

National Geographic: locust hoard can be 460 square miles in size, can pack 40-80 million locust into less than half a square mile. 
Each locust can eat its weight in plants every day. Swarm of such size could eat 423 million pounds of plants within a single day. 
Can cover vast distances: 1954 a swarm flew from Norther Africa to Great Britain; in 1988 flew from West Africa to the Caribbean. 
No wonder that Joel describes them as an army that can’t be contained (2:4-9). 

The results of this are cataclysmic, affecting every aspect of their life. 

Recreationally (5), religiously (9), and economically (10). 
This is a sudden shift in lifestyle: what makes up culture, and daily existence, is suddenly and violently stripped away (1:7). 

Reminds us of videos we see of the volcanic activity in Hawaii, or Tsunamis in Indonesia, or wild fires and mudslides in California: an uncontrollable, devastating power that we can’t possibly hope to contain. 

Even our modern society we can still relate to the ancients: there are still things which we have absolutely no control over. 
We like to think that we can fix everything in our modern times; yet there will come moments in your life when you suddenly feel absolutely out of control—like a ship being tossed violently at sea. 

What do you do when everything around you is shaking? When all you’ve known is dissolving around you? Or, even more terrifying: how can you live in a world when, in a single moment, everything can be lost? 
These questions, I think, bring us face to face with a very fundamental question for believers: what does it mean to live a life of faith? 

The Life of Faith 

I believe there are four key elements within Joel which show the meaning of living a life of faith: trusting in spite of circumstance, crying out in lament, returning in contrition, and finding satisfaction in God. 
Trusting Despite Circumstance 

From Noah building an ark before there was a flood, to Moses and the Israelites before the Red Sea with the Egyptian armies barreling down their necks, to Gideon in his army of 300, faith is always defined in trusting God regardless of the odds. 

If we only trust the Lord when all of our ducks are in a row, then we may question whether we trust him at all. 
Faith is trusting in the character, purpose, and plan of God regardless of external circumstances (2 Cor. 5:7). 

Within the context of Joel, this is witnessed in trusting God’s ability to restore the land, even though it doesn’t seem possible than transformation can come from such devastation. 

It is a call to trust in a Lord to restore what the Locust have ravished (Joel 2:21-25). 
Faith then is trusting God to make a masterpiece of the mess we see around us; to know that the Lord’s purpose still continues, even in the lean years. 
Really, faith is about the ability to see the beauty of God’s future in spite of the brutal reality of the present. 
This, of course, is why faith and hope are so intertwined; faith presupposes hope; it a trust that things will get better—in fact, they will be there best. 

You may be looking at your life this morning, wondering how in the world the Lord can do anything with the devastation and confusion you see in your life right now, yet Joel reminds us that even the most terrifying circumstances can be redeemed by faith. 

Crying Out in Lament 

Although the life of faith is one of quiet confidence in God’s future, this doesn’t mean that there isn’t room for mourning. 

Some act as if faith never questions, never cries, and is never confused—in reality, if these things aren’t apart of your faith at some point, I doubt you genuinely experience true faith. 
Lament lays the ground work for faith; to hurt deeply, and still turn to God in the pain. 

Lament over these terrible circumstances is key within the book of Joel (Joel 2:12-16). 

Faith isn’t removed from the reality, but rooted deeply within great tragedy. 
Often faith cries out and mourns, because it knows what can be, what should be, and what will be, but it never dismisses what is.

But, the lament of faith is just that: a deep mourning tempered by trust in the Lord (1 Thess. 4:13); we mourn knowing that comfort will come (Matt. 5:4). 

Returning in Contrition 

Although Joel never lists specific sins, there is something within the nation that requires repentance (Joel 2:12-13). 
While some who profess faith like to act as if they have it all together, the reality is that this life is one of constant return. 

Repentance isn’t a one time act, but a lifestyle. 
As we come to know God better, our weakness are spotlighted with even greater clarity and our hearts are rent before God. 

Sometimes, difficulty and tragedy and moments of great introspection (9/11) for example, and God can use those circumstances to call us back to Him. 

Faith doesn’t assume perfection, but stands in the confidence that only grace can give: we are accepted not because we are good, but because He is. 
Because of this, we live a life constantly returning to our Lord, never satisfied with where we are if its an inch a way from our God. 

Finding Satisfaction in God

Within Joel, the lack and restoration of joy is key (1:16; 2:21); joy is lost because of tragedy and sin, but restored beyond measure by God. 

Absolute destitution gives way to abundant satisfaction because God acts on behalf of His people (Joel 2:23-27). 
Here we discover the heart of the life of faith: finding satisfaction and joy in God alone. 

Your life is determined by pursuing what you believe will make you happy; faith sets a trajectory for the greatest, most lasting joy: God himself. 

This is a life in which destitution eventually gives way to absolute satisfaction. 
This joy and happiness, because of God’s enduring nature and unfailing promise, lasts even in the face of great difficulty. 
This is what it means to walk by faith: to trust that the pleasures of God and His will are greater than the pleasure of the passing moment—and living like you really believe that. 

Conclusion 

This past week ended with yet another school shooting—hitting very close to home. 
We are so naive sometimes. We live life today assuming it will be like yesterday.

Yet, Joel reminds us that, when we are least expecting it life can radically change in ways we never imagined. 
Where do your feet stand in those moments where everything around you is sinking? 

The life of faith—a life that trust despite circumstance, cries out in lament, returns in contrition, and finds satisfaction in God—is the only life that can really endure.