Blow a trumpet in Zion, And sound an alarm on My holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble, For the day of the Lord is coming; Surely it is near.

~Joel 2:1 NASB

 

While I have read the above verse so many times I’ve committed it to memory, I may have lost its message. 

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I understand what the words mean, but with time and familiarity, I’ve been lulled into a drowsy complacency that dulls the sharp reality of what they say.

Unlike the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears, this is no fairytale. A day, unlike any other day, will come when Christ will return.  We don’t know if we will be working or resting, awake or asleep.  But a day will come that is called “the Day of the Lord” or “That Day.”

Looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savoir Jesus Christ.

~Titus 2:13 NKJV

 

Scripture recounts people crumbling in fear before a mere angel.  I can only imagine that when the clouds break open and we see our radiant Jesus coming in the clouds, we will experience the ultimate moment of profound awe, wonder, shock, joy, humility, gratefulness, and fear.  But, as the Bride of Christ, not fear as we would experience from the expectation of punishment. Rather, the paradigm-shifting, mind-blowing, barrier-shattering revelation of the disparity between His holiness, power, and glory and our lack of the same. 

I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

~Ephesians 4:1-3 NKJV

 

I want to live today mindful of that day.  When He comes, I don’t want to be caught asleep, unprepared, or ashamed.

Have you grown sleepy or complacent in your thoughts or ways? Have you allowed yourself to believe that those things foretold in Scripture are so far into the future as to not affect your today? One day will be “That Day.”  Perhaps it’s today. Ask the Father to breathe afresh on your spirit. 

Do you eagerly await “The Day?”

Father God, wake me from my slumber. Help me to rouse myself from the hypnotic whispers of the world, to be awake and alert, and to rise and dress in the whole armor of God and in the righteousness of Christ. Teach me to live in hope of Your glorious appearance with a fervor to reflect Your likeness. May I breathe in Your Word and breathe out hope and truth. Jumpstart my heart with the jaw-dropping, heart-reviving, life-changing revelation that what Your Word says in its entirety is truth. 

You gave dictation to Your servants to serve as prophetic historians of what is yet to come. May I take heed and be prepared, ready and living worthy of the high calling so that I will bring You glory and not be ashamed. Give me wisdom, discernment, and supernatural boldness in submission to Your Spirit. And as patterned by Jesus Himself, may I be so strengthened in love to joyfully be willing to lay down my life so that others might find eternal life.

Whether Jesus Christ returns today, tomorrow, or in a thousand years, I long to see His appearing.  Together, the Spirit and the Bride say, “Come, Lord Jesus, come.”  In Jesus’ name, amen.

Genre: Non-fiction

Copyright 2021: The Sound of the Alarm: Julie Souza Bradley Lilly: All Rights Reserved