Paula Moldenhauer
Fear not, Earth! Be glad and celebrate!
God has done great things.
Fear not, wild animals!
The fields and meadows are greening up.
The trees are bearing fruit again:
a bumper crop of fig trees and vines!
Children of Zion, celebrate!
Be glad in your God.
He’s giving you a teacher
to train you how to live right—
Teaching, like rain out of heaven, showers of words
to refresh and nourish your soul, just as he used to do.
Joel 2:21-28
Ever feel barren?
Even Christian writers have seasons when life marches through our creative landscape like an army of destruction, devouring everything in its path. We curl into ourselves. Instead bursting with fruitfulness, verdant with words, ideas, and passion, we shrivel.
Dusty. Dry. Thirsty.
In Christian circles, some people call these seasons the locust years. They’re referencing the book of Joel, which talks about destruction by locusts. But these people usually also reference Joel 2:25 when God promises, “I’ll make up for the years of the locust, the great locust devastation.”
Bible readers love the hope and imagery in Joel 2:21-32, and Bible scholars, like Matthew Henry who wrote Matthew Henry’s Commentary in 1710 and modern day scholar Eugene Peterson, author of The Message, bring forward a beautiful little nugget in verse 23. This deeper understanding is based on the teaching of Jewish Rabbis. While most Bible translations of Joel talk about spring and autumn rains to refresh the land, the Hebrew context adds new understanding to the beautiful metaphors of a lush life filled with every good thing. The rabbis equate the rain with the words of teachers of righteousness. Matthew Henry explains that some claim the passage refers to the Teacher of Righteousness, the Messiah Himself.
Peterson translates,
Children of Zion, celebrate!
Be glad in your God.
He’s giving you a teacher
to train you how to live right—
Teaching, like rain out of heaven, showers of words
to refresh and nourish your soul, just as he used to do.
Now the weary Christian writer has great hope. We’ve been given a Teacher of righteousness—Jesus Himself. Jesus not only teaches us how to live right, but he sends words, like rain from heaven, to pour over our tired souls. He is not stingy with this rain. His words fall from heaven in showers.
Pause a moment. Recall a time when the land in your area was brittle with thirst. Now imagine rain showers. You can likely smell the rain before it reaches the ground. Do you see how the dusty soil drinks in the moisture? Rivulets of water become tiny streams. When the sun comes out, the once-brown grass is lush, alive, and green. Even the trees seems to stand taller, their leaves rich in green. Wildflowers now open their petals and paint once-barren fields a rainbow of yellow, purple, pink, and orange.
Now, dear writer, come to Jesus with your thirst. Ask the reigning Messiah-King to teach and refresh you. Ask Him to pour His restorative, nourishing, empowering words over you in great showers of blessing. Raise your thirsty mouth open to the sky. Feel the rain of His Spirit pour over you. First it comes in little rivulets, then in waves of saturation, soaking you all the way to the most barren place of your soul.
Rest there as long as you need. Drink deeply. Let the blossoms of your heart unfurl.
And, when he whispers that you’ve rested long enough, let Jesus rain through you. Give His restorative, nourishing, empowering words to those He has chosen for you to teach.
Write, dear writer. Write.
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