Give Not Thine Heritage to Reproach

Scripture: Joel 2:17

“Spare thy people, O LORD, and give not thine heritage to reproach, that the heathen should rule over them: wherefore should they say among the people, Where is their God?” — Joel 2:17 (KJV)

The enemy does not rage just to cause trouble, he intends the trouble become so great, so prolonged and so visible that people begin to question the God you serve. This is where the rage of Psalm 2 leads in Joel 2. The heathen who gathered against God now look at the condition of His people and ask, “Where is their God?” This question is the real purpose behind the reproach.

The enemy wants what he has done to appear bigger than what God can undo; he wants the duration and magnitude of the problem to make it seem beyond God’s intervention and hopes that you will begin to wonder whether God is still able to change it.

But nothing can become bigger than God. A problem may be bigger than your strength, your resources, your influence and every solution you have considered, but it cannot be bigger than the One who created heaven and earth. Its size is only intimidating when it is compared with you. Place it beside God, and it immediately loses the greatness it claimed.

In Joel, God’s heritage had been devastated. The damage was visible, and the nations believed they had found evidence against God. The priests, however, brought the devastation before the God who could reverse it. They stood before the Lord and cried, “Spare thy people.” They knew that whatever had consumed the land had not consumed God’s power. Israel’s condition had changed, but Israel’s God had not.

Reproach tries to use your present condition to give a false report about God. It says that His silence means weakness, that delay means inability, and that the rage of the enemy has gone beyond His control. However, those asking, “Where is your God?” are judging Him by a situation He has not finished.

You are still God’s heritage; trouble has not changed your ownership. Therefore, take your situation back to the Creator: “Lord, this rage has continued long enough. Do not allow what the enemy has done to speak more strongly than what You can do. Spare Your heritage and answer the question, ‘Where is their God?’”

May God step into every situation that has been made to look greater than Him. May He silence every reproach, reverse every damage and make it clear that no rage of the enemy can withstand His intervention.

Prayer: O Lord, do not give Your heritage to reproach. Arise over every situation the enemy has made to appear impossible, reverse what the enemy has done, and let my life reveal that there is nothing bigger than You, in Jesus’ name. Amen.