Fear Not! A Guide to Living a Fearless Lifeਨਮੂਨਾ

If My People

“Fear not, O land; be glad and rejoice. For the Lord has done marvelous things!” (Joel 2:21, NKJV)

Prior to the “fear not,” the prophet Joel had prophesied about a call to repentance by Israel. This is because a devastating locust plague had virtually wiped out anything that grew and was a food source for the people (e.g., trees, vines, grain). This plague was not an ordinary natural phenomenon, but orchestrated by the Lord as judgment. “Alas for the day! For the day of the Lord is at hand; it shall come as destruction from the Almighty. Is not the food cut off before our eyes?” (Joel 1:15-16, NKJV)

The Lord tells the people in Joel 2:12 (NKJV): “Turn to Me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning.” If ever there was a time in our nation’s history to heed a similar warning, it is now. From a spiritual perspective, the locusts are quickly destroying the spiritual vines which our country was founded on.

The recipe for our country is simple as outlined in 2 Chronicles 7:14 (NKJV) “If My people, who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and heal their land.” If you put this in a formula it looks like this: (If we will) Humble Ourselves + Pray + Repent = (Then God will) Hear + Forgive + Heal. So who needs to do this? The “My people” are believers. God’s people are going to have to lead the way out of this mess our country is in.

Sure, the task seems daunting seeing how far we have fallen. But the answer lies in Joel 1: 3 (NKJV): “Tell your children about it, let your children tell their children, and their children another generation.” We have to train up the next generation in the way of the Lord.

Motivational speaker Zig Ziglar would often say, “Success is where preparation meets opportunity.” We have a great opportunity in front of us, and our preparation is to turn to the Lord with fasting, weeping, and mourning. Then, we will see success in the form of our land being healed. Joel 2:25 (NKJV) tells us, “So I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten.” Fear not the future!

Prayer: Lord, I humble myself before You today, praying for my family and my country. May we turn from our wicked ways. We know You are a faithful God who will hear, forgive and heal our land if we repent. I pray for our next generation of kids, that they will know You as their Lord and Savior. We thank You in advance for the restoration and healing of our land. In Jesus name, amen.