A Lament and Prayer

Alas for the day! For the day of the LORD is near, and as destruction from the Almighty it comes. Is not the food cut off before our eyes, joy and gladness from the house of our God?  The seed shrivels under the clods; the storehouses are desolate; the granaries are torn down because the grain has dried up. How the beasts groan! The herds of cattle are perplexed because there is no pasture for them; even the flocks of sheep suffer. To you, O LORD, I call. For fire has devoured the pastures of the wilderness, and flame has burned all the trees of the field. Even the beasts of the field pant for you because the water brooks are dried up, and fire has devoured the pastures of the wilderness.
Joel 1:15–20
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A Lament and Prayer
Our God is the God of heaven and earth. All things are under his authority, and by the power of his might, it is all held together. The day when he sends forth his Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, to judge the heaven and the earth is near. He knows the day and the hour—but we do not. Therefore, we wait. We wait for his final coming by depending on the ways he has already come and promises to come. We rejoice in his incarnation, his becoming man. We rejoice in his presence among us in the Word preached and the sacraments given. It is by his Holy Spirit that we are sustained in the one true faith. In this Church, the Holy Spirit richly and daily forgives all our sins and keeps us in the true faith with Jesus Christ. We call upon the Lord, for the weight of sin is all around us. The whole creation waits with us in bondage. But we cry out to God, knowing his promises, hearing his Word, and depending on his presence among us. Thanks be to God that he dwells with his people.