Seek First His Kingdom

 

The Lord roars from Zion; from Jerusalem his voice bellows out. The heavens and the earth shake. But the Lord is a refuge for his people; he is a stronghold for the citizens of Israel.  Joel 3:16

 We feel so small, so vulnerable in this world. There is so much evil out there and we feel powerless to contend with it. Children are harmed horribly every day, and we cannot stop it. Trafficking is at an all-time high, with an estimated 40.3 million people in slavery today. 55% of these slaves are women and 26% are children according to World Atlas. That means 10,478,000 children are in slavery in the world today! According to Voices 4 Freedom, “Of every 1,000 people in the United States, 1.3 are living in modern slavery.” That's a total of 433,277 people living in slavery in OUR COUNTRY today. Yes, slavery exists in our country today, in vast numbers. If that doesn’t break your heart, I don’t know what will.

 It makes me angry, sick to my stomach. I want to fix it, but the problem is so much bigger than me. You know what is bigger than the problem though? God. He has a plan. Those who do wrongs like this will be held accountable. It may seem today like evil is winning, like they are getting away with it all. I read that the 32 billion dollar per year slave trade is the second largest criminal enterprise in the world, just after the drug trade. But the day of reckoning is coming. In Joel chapter 3 we read about this day. In the beginning of the chapter, it refers to a more immediate time of reconciliation where the nations that had taken Israel captive, in this case Babylon, would be called to account and forced to return Israel to her home. Then it goes on to talk about a future day when all the world’s nations will be judged.

 This is not a cheery, sunny day where we will be lined up in a neat and tidy court room. No, it says in Joel 3:14-17 that great crowds will be gathered in the valley of decision and the sun, moon and stars will be darkened. God is not a small judge sitting behind a big podium banging his gavel for order. No, it tells us that, “The LORD roars from Zion; from Jerusalem his voice bellows out. The heavens and the earth shake.” It will, indeed, be a great and terrible day of the Lord!

 Knowing that God will make all things right, that He will call evil to account, gives me hope, but also adds a new weight to my heart, a burden for all of my loved ones who would not be found in Christ if He were to return today. No, I don’t fear the day of the Lord because I believe His timing is perfect and His judgements are just. I know that He loves my loved ones even more than I do and His heart’s desire is that all of them would come to Him (2 Peter 3:9). I long that everyone I know would come to Jesus before this day, that they, like me, would be found in Him and take refuge in Him.

Here's the Thing: In previous years I have looked on this judgement day with sadness and disbelief that I could feel joy in heaven if my loved ones were not there. I think, sadly, I loved my family and friends more than I loved Jesus. A way of thinking more in line with putting God first would be a sadness for God for all the hurt my loved ones are causing Him. While yes, on that day I pray everyone I know will have turned to Jesus and be found in Him, if they are not, then I side with Jesus. I trust that He has given them all the chances they need to turn to Him and if they choose to go against Him, then my loyalties are clear.