Good Days Are Coming

Amos 9:13
“The days are coming,” declares the LORD,
“when the reaper will be overtaken by the plowman
and the planter by the one treading grapes.
New wine will drip from the mountains
and flow from all the hills,

Amos 9 is a balanced book. In this chapter God condemns sin. God pursues sinners. God destroys sinners. Then finally God restores Israel from the effects of His destruction to a better life.

We need a balance in our teaching and preaching. It is true God will pursue and destroy sinners. It is also true that God will restore His people. To dwell on destruction only could be fear-mongering, hoping to win people to God through fear. It could be being an alarmist seeking undue attention to their piousness.

On the other hand, to dwell on restoration only is to buy into the prosperity gospel mantra. Prosperity gospel turns a blind eye to God’s demands for repentance of sin and reformation of lifestyle. Preaching of restoration only is sometimes based on a fear to offend people with the truth. A desire to please people will always have motives that offend God.

We must be balanced and honest in our teaching and preaching. We must tell the truth and nothing but the truth. God is patient with sinners but if they persist in sin and refuse to repent, God will ruthlessly hunt them and punish them severely. Remaining in sin is dangerous. Refusal to attend worship, repent sin, and associate with the things of God is dangerous. God who we can’t run away from may seem to currently ignore sin, but very soon He will punish it severely. Yet, God doesn’t want our repentance to be based on fear but on His patient love.

After every painful and bitter experience, God promises better days to come. God may allow bad occurrences to test our faith. God may allow painful experiences to punish our sins and send us back to Him. But after the bad and painful experiences, God will bring better sweet days as part of the restoration. Good days are coming!

This cycle of bad and good happens at a personal level. It also happens at the community level and global level. It also happens with respect to certain brief events and even in long-running events. We all experience this cycle at micro and macro levels. The entire history of humanity and the world is in this cycle, but the end will be good for the faithful. Good days are not for everyone only the faithful. Good days are coming!

If we are faithful to God, while bad and painful experiences may visit us, good days are coming. Our entire life may be bad and painful, but good days are coming. Our school days may be made of bad experiences but good days are coming. Our health may be causing us pain and anxiety but good days are coming. Our relationships in marriage and outside may be the thorn in the flesh but good days are coming. Good days are coming while we are still alive on earth and much better in the world to come. Good days are coming!

This cycle will end with good days when God ushers the faithful into eternal life. For evil and unrepentant people, the cycle will end in pain, sorrow, regret, and eternal destruction. For the faithful, good days are coming. Our text today promises good days after bad experiences. Our text today promises overwhelmingly good days. Good days are coming!

Dear God grant us perseverance and patience during the bad painful days. Lead us to repentance and reformation. Give us the ability to endure difficulty. Since you have promised good days to come, make it even today, in Jesus’ name, Amen!