Living in the Spirit

October 17, 2022

Scripture Reading: Joel 2:23-32

O children of Zion, be glad
   and rejoice in the Lord your God;
for he has given the early rain for your vindication,
   he has poured down for you abundant rain,
   the early and the later rain, as before.
The threshing-floors shall be full of grain,
   the vats shall overflow with wine and oil.

Then afterwards
   I will pour out my spirit on all flesh;
your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
   your old men shall dream dreams,
   and your young men shall see visions.
Even on the male and female slaves,
   in those days, I will pour out my spirit. –Joel 2:23-24,28-29

Oklahoma is suffering a drought, causing catastrophic outcomes for the state. There is not enough grass to feed cattle. Even where grass might have been available, fires turned the trees and other plants into ash. While the rain that fell last night was accompanied by high winds and hail, it was a blessing.  

As we recover from the avalanche of COVID and are learning to live with its ongoing impacts, we, too are suffering its consequences. Businesses are trying to find a new normal, our supply systems are not as streamlined as we want them to be causing delays in finding what we need contributing to inflation, and a war in Europe is adding to our challenges. We somehow find ourselves in a divide-and-conquer world unable to find common ground for the Common Good. If ever we needed the Lord to pour his spirit on all of us and show us the way to a beloved community, we need it now.

Prayer: Lord, pour out your spirit on us and help us to build a more loving world. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.