I Didn’t Anticipate This

Joel 1:11

“Despair, you farmers,
    wail, you vine growers;
grieve for the wheat and the barley,
    because the harvest of the field is destroyed.”

I enjoy playing chess. It is one of those games that is all about mental strategy and thinking two or three moves ahead of your opponent. However, it is also one of the most frustrating games because there are times when I have a perfect strategy all figured out, but I make one small mistake, and it changes everything. The opponent takes a crucial piece or puts me in a position that I didn’t anticipate, and suddenly I am scrambling to figure out what to do next. Or, worst of all, the opponent puts me in a devastating checkmate that I didn’t see coming.

This is where the people of Judah find themselves at the beginning of the book of Joel. A devastating swarm of locusts came out of nowhere and had just ripped through the land of Judah, resulting in a famine. As these consuming locusts ate all of the agriculture and vegetation in the land, it caused the light of the sun to be hidden and darkened. This resulted in nationwide mourning and a call to repentance by the prophet Joel.

Maybe today, you find yourself in a place that you didn’t anticipate and couldn’t prepare for. A sudden illness, financial or relational crisis, or an unexpected problem hits at work or school. Maybe it was your own poor decision-making that led you to a place you never wanted to be. I know for me, the typical response when things like this happen can be anxiety, fear, regret, worry, sadness, or, worst of all, despair.

Although we sometimes don’t know the answer to why negative situations hit our lives and most of the time it is out of our control, the only thing that we can control is our attitude and our response. The Bible says in Philippians 4:6-7: “6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

So the next time you find yourself facing an unexpected negative situation that you could not anticipate or prepare for, let your first response be to God in prayer. That doesn’t mean just pushing all the negative emotions aside and acting like everything is fine. No, it is important to acknowledge the reality of the situation. But instead of running to self-medicate with the things of this world, the best place to run is to God in prayer. Express your frustration, fear, and worry in the place that is safe and with the one who can help you. Notice the people of Judah had to mourn and acknowledge that the famine was bad. However, it drove them to repentance and to rely on God’s power and strength to save them.

The Lord is waiting for you to turn to Him for help. Trying to figure it all out and overthinking will only make it worse. God won’t always magically fix the situation, but He will give you the strength, peace, and power to keep moving forward through it and will eventually cause all things to work together for good. (Romans 8:28)

Prayer: Father, I acknowledge today that I need your help. The situation that I find myself in, whether I caused it myself or it happened to me, is bigger than I anticipated. Therefore, I choose today to run to you in prayer, and I ask that you give me peace in the midst of anxiety and chaos. May my response in this situation point towards your great love in Christ, show all those around me that you are on the throne, and that you are in control no matter what. In Jesus’ name, amen.