Joel 1:14

There is no hope offered to man other than to accept God’s gift of Christ Jesus.....Christ within man is the the fulfillment of God’s eternal plan! We need to cry out to Him, as a nation and individually, for His mercy and forgiveness. In our sincerity He will forgive our past and make our future bright with promise.

Joel reminds the nation’s leaders that being restored to blessing requires repentance. God will not withhold His favor and blessing from those who are truly repentant.

Joel’s prophecy had two purposes. First, Joel wrote to call the nation to repentance  on the basis of its experience of the recent locust plague. The recent disaster was but a token of a more devastating judgment to come. Yet that judgment could be averted by sincere and humble repentance. In this, Joel shares a common message with other prophets. In the light of impending judgment, there is always a message of hope for those who will return in faith to God. Second, the prophecy was intended to comfort the godly with promises of future salvation and blessing. Should the national disaster occur, Joel offered hope to the true believers that all was not over. God would keep His promise; the Savior would one day reign.

Joel 1:14

Consecrate a fast, 
Call a sacred assembly; 
Gather the elders 
And all the inhabitants of the land 
Into the house of the Lord your God, 
And cry out to the Lord.