Scripture Prompt
Pay Attention to Those Pests
The locust swarms of life will eventually bring forth fruit
Do you ever have those days where, no matter how hard you try, everything seems to go wrong?
Perhaps you spilt your coffee on your white shirt. Then you’re stuck in hour-long traffic, and then get into an argument with your partner in the evening.
How swarms form
Each grievance is a pest descending on your heart and mind. It’s a small annoyance at first, tiny pinpricks that wound. But those wounds pile up, and eventually many of us find ourselves surrounded by swarms so thick that it’s hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel.
The prophet Joel describes a situation flipped on its head in this passage:
I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten —
the great locust and the young locust,
the other locusts and the locust swarm
my great army that I sent among you.
You will have plenty to eat, until you are full,
and you will praise the name of the Lord your God,
who has worked wonders for you;
never again will my people be shamed.(Joel 2:25–26, NIV)
Some of our locusts are there for years, eating away at our self-worth and mental health…
