How Do I Respond to Attacks?

Consecrate a fast; call a solemn assembly. Gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land to the house of the LORD your God, and cry out to the LORD.

Joel 1:14 (ESV)

David’s Wednesday Word:

I have never been in a physical fight. Well, unless you count the time my father-in-law tried to tickle me and I chose to prevent him from doing so.

I have experienced other kinds of attacks. Words can hurt. False accusations can quickly put me into a defensive mode.

The situation Joel was dealing with was different. His nation was experiencing devastation. Locusts had destroyed the land, and the people were suffering.

Joel described it this way in chapter one, verse four: “What the cutting locust left, the swarming locust has eaten. What the swarming locust left, the hopping locust has eaten, and what the hopping locust left, the destroying locust has eaten.”

Sounds awful.

So what did Joel tell the people to do?

He said, “Consecrate a fast; call a solemn assembly. Gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land to the house of the LORD your God, and cry out to the LORD.”

Get attacked? Declare a fast!

In other words, humbly submit to the Lord. Seek Him first. Cry out to Him.

I observe that our society is also under spiritual pressure. Many people want to ignore God or marginalize Him. I may not be able to change what others do, but God’s people can still gather together, humble ourselves, and seek Him.

If we do that, God can begin by changing us.

And then, as we remain open to the divine appointments He gives us, we can influence others—our family, our friends, and our neighbors.

When the fight comes to me, my first response does not need to be defensiveness.

It can be dependence on God.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, I don’t like being in a fight. But sometimes the fight comes to me. May I always respond with trust in You. Help me to humbly seek You first, and may I influence others to do the same.

— David Beauchamp
Temporary Ministries

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