On All Flesh

Transcript

Hello, my friend… so glad you're with me today. This is By God's Call — day 276, On All Flesh.

Listen closely to this promise:

"And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions." Joel 2, verse 28.

To feel the weight of this promise, you need to remember what comes right before it. Joel had just described a devastated nation — locusts eating everything in sight, drought, a ruined harvest, a people on their knees. And it's right after that scene of ruin that God says, "afterward." Not instead of the pain, but after it. That alone is a huge comfort: God's hope doesn't ignore what you've been through — it arrives right after, like a new chapter opening.

And look at what He promises: "I will pour out my Spirit." This isn't a passing feeling, not just emotional relief. It's God's own Spirit — His living presence — being poured out on people. God isn't sending a messenger. He's coming to live inside us.

But notice the scope of this promise: "on all flesh." Not just on the priests who already had access to the temple. Not just on the chosen prophets. On all. And then Joel spells out who these "all" are: sons and daughters — meaning the young, who in that culture almost never had spiritual voice. Old men, who will dream dreams. Young men, who will see visions. Men and women alike. There is no longer a special class of people who hear from God and another class that only watches from a distance.

This promise stayed tucked away, waiting, for centuries. And then, on the day of Pentecost, the apostle Peter stands up before a crowd in Jerusalem and declares, with full confidence: this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel. What had only been written word became fire, became wind, became ordinary people speaking the wonders of God in languages not their own. The ancient promise didn't stay on the page — it happened, for real, in the lives of real people.

And here's what I want you to carry with you today: this promise didn't stop at Pentecost. It's still open to you. You don't need to be a pastor, you don't need a title, you don't need a certain age or a position of prominence. God wants to pour out His Spirit on you — today, right now, in the ordinary life you're living.

So before you rush off into the tasks of the day, I want to invite you to set aside just five quiet minutes. It doesn't need to be elaborate. Just tell God: "Fill me again with Your Spirit for whatever this day is going to ask of me." That simple. And then go live the day expecting Him to actually show up.

Stay close to God. Pray — then act. I'll see you tomorrow, my friend.