At the time of Joel's writing, locusts had just devoured the vegetation and crops of the people of Judah. As a result, their economy was suffering, many of the animals were without food, and their families were devastated physically and financially. This event was so severe that it was unlike anything that generation of people had ever witnessed.

Through this event, God was certainly getting the attention of His people in a big way, and He wanted them to be sure to convey what He was teaching them through this occurrence to their children and the generations of grandchildren that would come after them.

Have you ever experienced a season when you could tell that God was trying to get your attention? How did you respond?

Financial struggles are both a symptom and an effect. They can be a symptom of the choices we make, or they can be the effect of choices others have imposed upon us. Our financial health can impact the quality of our sleep, our relationship with our spouse, and the amount of time we have available to spend with our family. But regardless of what our present day financial situation looks like, there are some principles found in Scripture that can help us understand how the Lord wants us to manage our finances.

I should also say before we look at these Scriptures that while I believe the Lord wants us all to make wise financial choices, I don't believe He wants us all to be financially rich. For some of us, that would be too much of a temptation. For others, it might become an idol that they worshipped instead of Him.

But that doesn't mean we shouldn't aim to improve our financial health. So how can we become financially healthy without worshipping money?

Relationships, particularly on the human level, can be rather complicated. We all know people who can be quite difficult to interact with. I suspect that during the course of your life, you have probably been forced to interact with some people who may have been hurtful or dishonest with you. Maybe you've also been attacked or betrayed. That certainly isn't pleasant, and while we're called to forgive those who have hurt us, I don't think anyone would blame you if you felt like there were certain people that you were better off not interacting with for your own well-being or safety.

At present, I have several friends who have admitted to me that they're at the point of life when they would strongly prefer to interact with their pets than with other people. It's hard to blame them, but I think Scripture shows us things that can help us navigate the complexities of relationships, even if we've been hurt in the past.

Emotions are both interesting and puzzling. By design, as those who have been created in the image of God, the Lord has fashioned us in such a way as to give us emotions and the capacity to feel empathy and sympathy. Admittedly, I have sometimes wondered if life would be a little simpler if we weren't as emotional as we are. But the capacity for emotional expression truly is a gift from God that can serve to reflect His compassionate heart.

Would you consider yourself emotionally healthy or emotionally damaged? Do you think the Lord wants you to express your emotions or keep them under wraps? How can our emotions serve as a reflection of the heart of Christ?

I'm convinced that anyone beyond the age of 25 that looks and feels healthy isn't looking and feeling that way by accident. They are making intentional decisions that contribute to their physical health on a daily basis. For those who follow Christ, there's also a correlation between our physical health and our spiritual health.

I hope you're interested in making investments in your physical health. I hope you can see the value of doing so. If so, I'd like to take the next few moments to point out five frequently overlooked facets of physical health that are stressed in Scripture.

If you asked a group of random strangers what it meant to be "healthy," I'm sure you would be offered a variety of suggestions. My guess is that many of the answers you received would primarily relate to physical health. Healthy bodies are certainly important, but there's a deeper level of health, with longer lasting results, that we should prioritize first.

As followers of Christ, we're called and empowered to be spiritually healthy. So what does that look like, and how can we obtain the spiritual health and spiritual vibrancy many of us are craving?

Jesus made it clear in His word that at present, He is building His church and the devil will not succeed in destroying what Christ is building. Christ is building us up as individuals, as a family, and as an eternal kingdom. But even though Christ will ultimately be victorious in His efforts, there are still those who seek to tear down what He is establishing. He also warned us about these attempts ahead of time so we can be on our guard against them.

So how can we avoid giving in to any attempt to tear down what Christ is building up?

The other day, I was watching a biography of Charles Spurgeon. Spurgeon was a well-known pastor during the late 1800's. He pastored a church that grew very large under his leadership while writing approximately 150 books, publishing a magazine, founding an orphanage, establishing a pastors' college, and starting many other ministries (a large percentage of which are still operating).

It's fascinating to consider how much good he was able to accomplish during the course of his life. It can certainly be said that Spurgeon was spiritually gifted and blessed, but there are some additional traits that he exhibited that I think are also worth noting, particularly if we also want to become more productive and get more accomplished during the limited time we have.

Paul spent his life on this earth attempting big things. He experienced great successes and painful failures, but I admire what he did, and I'm motivated by the example he gives us of the blessings of submitting our lives over to the Lord, and learning to listen to the Lord's voice when He speaks.

And I'm grateful that when Paul did the big things the Lord called him to do, that he was intentional about bringing other people along with him. He wasn't trying to bring the gospel to the world by himself. He partnered with men and women who became His family in Christ. They served together, and we are the beneficiaries of their sacrifices. We know Jesus, in part, because people like this partnered together to make Him known to us, and their example has been emulated by millions of people throughout the centuries.