When God Burns Your Field
“Then Joab arose and came to Absalom’s house and said to him, ‘Why have your servants set my field on fire?’” 2 Samuel 14:31 (NKJV)
There are times when God calls you, and you brush it off. He nudges your heart once, then twice, then a third time. You know He is speaking, but you stay busy in the field of your own life. You keep working, keep moving, keep doing things your own way. That is what Joab did when Absalom sent for him. He ignored the call, again and again, until finally Absalom set his barley field on fire. And only then did Joab come running.
God knows how to burn your field. He knows what will get your attention when nothing else will. It may not be comfortable. It may feel like loss. But His purpose is not to destroy you. His purpose is to wake you up. The barley field is temporary, but your soul is eternal. Sometimes God allows something to shake you because He loves you too much to let you sleep through His call.
We live in a time when people do not like to hear this. The message of judgment is unpopular. The modern idea of grace often makes excuses for sin instead of delivering people from it. But the truth of the Gospel is this: when Jesus comes into your life, He sets you free. He breaks chains. He delivers you from bondage. You do not have to stay addicted. You do not have to live bound.
If God has been calling you again and again, do not ignore His voice. Don’t wait until He has to burn your field to get your attention. He does it out of mercy, not anger. He knows the field does not matter in the light of eternity. What matters is the condition of your soul.
So if you feel the heat of conviction, don’t run from it. Run to Him. The fire that destroys barley is the same fire that purifies hearts. Let God’s fire make you whole.
Lord, if You have to burn my field to get my attention, do it. I do not want to ignore Your voice any longer.
Wake me up to what really matters. Purify my heart and free me from anything that keeps me from You.
I love you more than anything else, Lord. Amen.
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