Monday October 28, 2024

Today is Monday, October 28 and as we keep our eyes on Christ the Cornerstone, we recall how God wants to move us from places of brokenness to places of healing.

Holy and loving God, as I enter this time of prayer, I pause and become still. I calm my thoughts and silence my mind. I breathe deeply and slowly, and center myself upon Your steadfast love and gentle presence. Enlighten my heart and soul as I digest Your Word found in Holy Scripture. Teach me to listen for your voice above the surrounding chatter of the world. Help me understand what You are saying in my life. Reveal my places of brokenness and my need for healing in the name of Jesus Christ my Lord. Amen.

Do not be afraid, land of Judah; be glad and rejoice. Surely the Lord has done great things! Do not be afraid, you wild animals, for the pastures in the wilderness are becoming green. The trees are bearing their fruit; the fig tree and the vine yield their riches. Be glad, people of Zion, rejoice in the Lord your God, for he has given you the autumn rains because he is faithful. He sends you abundant showers, both autumn and spring rains, as before. The threshing floors will be filled with grain; the vats will overflow with new wine and oil. Joel 2:21-24

God is a God of healing. God is always about the work of healing what is broken, reclaiming what is lost, and restoring what is damaged. The Old Testament prophet Joel explained how God breaks into the world in special ways to bring about a new salvation. Despite people’s sin, God does not want to punish and destroy, just the opposite. In a great reversal, God wants to bring blessing and restoration. God will replenish the cracked, dry earth. The land will benefit from gentle rains and produce abundant food to nourish the inhabitants.

God knows everything about me. God is aware of the many challenges and difficulties of my life, both past and present and He wants to bring restoration. There are parts of me that yearn for God’s renewing touch. There are places in my life that need God’s presence. There are circumstances in my life that crave God’s strength and sustenance. I am glad and rejoice, because I know I am not alone. God is with me. With God, I know that the places where I am dry, I will be refreshed. In places where there is scarcity, I will find abundance. What once was broken, lost or destroyed will be restored. God is a God of love, compassion and mercy and God has the power to repair and improve all things, even me. Especially me. God can restore my circumstances, my relationships and my heart.

What might describe the state of my life’s circumstances or my soul? A barren land where the pastures have become dry, empty and lifeless like a dustbowl. Trees and vines that have stopped producing fruit. A lack of rain and hot sun causing cracks in hard soil. God brings life to the lifeless and restores what is broken to beautiful splendor. Living water is soaked up by the dry cracked earth of my heart and the landscape of my soul springs to life. My fruit is abundant. I give thanks for the harvest God brings about within me and through me.

Ask: What word or phrase strikes me when I reread this passage from the prophet Joel? What might God be speaking to me as I ponder these words in my heart? How do I compare myself to the restoration of the land that Joel describes?

Pause and Pray

God of compassion, thank You for blessing me. I am glad and rejoice because you have done great things for me. I offer you all the dry, broken, empty and hungry places within me and ask for Your healing touch that satisfies and renews. God of blessing, I ask you to send living water into my heart and life. I pray for the refreshment of the soul that only You can provide. I invite You into my circumstances and ask You to heal and restore every part of me that is lost or broken. Amen.

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