Good Morning. It’s Wednesday, June 25th, 2025. That title can go in polar opposite directions. Things are about to get much… what? Worse? Better? Truth is, it depends. Sometimes the same season that breaks one person builds another. The same fire that consumes can also refine. Help me finish this sentence: Things are about to get much…
Today's Reading:
Joel 1,2,3; 2 Timothy 1
Scripture
“I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten…” (Joel 2:25)
Observation
Joel doesn’t open with thunder or lightning. There’s no earthquake, no firestorm. Just locusts. Tiny bugs. Not terrifying on their own—but devastating together.
God’s judgment on Israel didn’t fall out of nowhere. It crept in slowly, like the locusts themselves. A swarm of consequences built from small compromises—years of ignoring God’s Word, drifting into idolatry, and calling it normal. And eventually, what was once fruitful was now gone. What was vibrant became empty. All that was left behind was destruction… and a whole lot of locust poop.
But then, in the middle of that mess, comes the Gospel in Joel:
“I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten…And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved...”
Things are about to get much worse… for some.
But for those who return to God—who rend their hearts, not just their clothes—things are about to get much better.
Application
It’s not the big failures that usually undo us. It’s the small compromises we excuse—little things we let slide, day after day. Like locusts, they don’t destroy everything at once. They nibble away until the fruit is gone, and we wonder how we got here.
Joel reminds me: the difference between things getting worse or better is often as simple as repentance. Just return.
Return so God can restore what’s been lost—but that’s not permission to keep wasting. His grace isn’t cheap. It’s an invitation to come back now, before the swarm spreads.
Today, I’m choosing to turn quickly—before little things become lasting damage. I don’t want to tolerate anything that will keep me from being able to say, “Things are about to get much better.”
Prayer
Lord, I want to walk closely with You—without drift, without distraction. Help me guard the small things; keep me from compromising. I know that no matter what, with You, things will always get much better.
In Jesus’ name, amen.
—Chris Kiriakos