Joel 2:11 English Standard Version (ESV) The Lord utters his voice before his army, for his camp is exceedingly great; he who executes his word is powerful. For the day of the Lord is great and very awesome; who can endure it?

My meditations on being chosen and called brought me to a remembrance of the draft during times of war. If your number comes up, you are in the army. Given this word of prophecy it is much better to be in the army of the Lord.

Joel 2:3 English Standard Version (ESV) Fire devours before them, and behind them a flame burns. The land is like the garden of Eden before them, but behind them a desolate wilderness, and nothing escapes them.

This first portion of Joel 2 speaks of the terrible day of the Lord. It is a prophetic warning. Will it happen? Can anything prevent that day from happening?

Joel 2:12-14 English Standard Version (ESV)

Return to the Lord

¹² “Yet even now,” declares the Lord, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; ¹³ and rend your hearts and not your garments.” Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love; and he relents over disaster. ¹⁴ Who knows whether he will not turn and relent, and leave a blessing behind him, a grain offering and a drink offering for the Lord your God?

If history is any telling factor in future events then man does not heed warnings and it is likely that the terrible day of the Lord will happen. It is a great thing to be drafted into the army of the Lord. Serve the Lord with gratitude, rejoice and serve Him well.

Genesis 1:3 English Standard Version (ESV) And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.

When God speaks a command the universe responds. Yesterday we left off with the issue of being called. That is a spoken command. We have no choice but to answer. In our arrogance we make it about our choice, that we sought God, that we chose God. It is not within our ability to resist the Creator.

It is God who has made Himself known. We would not even be aware of God if He had not chosen us and called us. How God makes Himself known is often different. Moses saw the burning bush. Did anyone else have that experience? We each have our own version of a burning bush moment, when God knows we are ready to seek out what is His sign to us.

There are some within the theological community that declare that God called us light in Genesis 1:3. Their logic may be based in verse 14 and 15 where the stars were created. Logic often dictates rational understanding. There is nothing rational about calling us before anything else was formed.

Ephesians 1:4 English Standard Version (ESV) even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love

Praise God that He did because up until the time we surrender to His Lordship, we had done nothing worthy of being chosen, of being called into service. God doesn’t use logic to make a thing come to pass. All he has to do is speak, “I say.” That is enough to make it happen. If we look to be worthy to be chosen we fail to understand that God doesn’t respond to vanity.