Monday Morning Thoughts about Sunday: Joel

Here’s the deal about Joel. When we are threatened by the pain of waiting, the Father promises us the Holy Spirit to be the means by which we faithfully wait. Habakkuk proclaimed to us that because God is gracious, that means he’s patient, which is why he hasn’t eliminated all evil from the world. This means God’s people are called to bear God’s image by being patient too. The good news, however, is that God graciously equips us to be patient by promising us the Holy Spirit (Joel 2.28-32). John 14-16 recounts for us Jesus’ upper room discourse for his disciples. With these words, Jesus is preparing us for the reality that he is going away and we are going to have to patiently wait for his return. Because Jesus’ teaching in the upper room focuses on hearts that are troubled by his absence (14.1), this discourse contains Jesus’ most direct teaching on the Holy Spirit. Having described the work of the Holy Spirit to take what the Father and the Son share and share it with us (16.15), Jesus now raises the topic of, you guessed it, waiting. Just like Joel 2.28-32 and Romans 8.14-26, Jesus teaches us that the Holy Spirit is the generous gift of the Father to help his sons and daughters wait.

“A little while, and you will see me no longer; and again a little while, and you will see me.” So some of his disciples said to one another, “What is this that he says to us, ‘A little while, and you will not see me, and again a little while, and you will see me’; and, ‘because I am going to the Father’?” So they were saying, “What does he mean by ‘a little while’? We do not know what he is talking about” (John 16.16-18, ESV).

At this point many of us can empathize with the disciples. “In a little while?” What does Jesus mean by “In a little while?” We do not know what he is talking about!” You see it’s in these moments of doubt expressed - It’s in the moment when we stop pretending like we don’t have any questions, that the ministry of the Holy Spirit opens up to us, or rather, we are opened up to the Holy Spirit’s ministry. When we are honest about our doubts, our loneliness, our questions, our pain, a gap emerges that we had previously sealed over with denial and pretend certainty, and that space is filled with the life of God communicated by the Spirit of God who testifies to our Spirit’s that we are God’s children (Rom. 8.16).

With whatever situation is making you feel lonely, go into your prayer closet and open up that situation to your loving Father. The promise of the Holy Spirit is not that the Father will necessarily shelter you from that situation. Rather, the Holy Spirit is the promise of the Father to be with you in that situation because he wants you to know you are not alone. Thanks be to God.

Take a listen to our exposition Joel.

Here's what I'm reading. 

Jayber Crow

Wendell Berry's unforgettable memoir of Port William's only Barber.

Prayer

Timothy Keller's topical study of what he argues is the most important aspect of our life with God.

Rejoicing in Christ

A small book about a big truth by Michael Reeves. Christ is the Christian life. 

The Unseen Realm 

A thick book about the Supernatural Worldview of the Bible that has much to commend about how the Bible's worldview can challenge our view of God, the world, and our responsibility as loyal bearers of God's image. This book led to our mini-series on Wednesdays about the divine council.