People will have nowhere to hide when the whole universe gets turned upside down. And yet, there is refuge! God creates a shelter. Who will be admitted to that refuge? When you see what is going to happen on that day, it becomes incredibly critical whether you will be allowed to enter there. Fortunately, Joel makes it crystal clear how you can gain access. It involves three things:
1. Are you calling on the name of the Lord? This refers to worship before God, which has already begun in Genesis 4:26. As long as the earth exists, God’s children have gathered together in one way or another to call upon
God’s name. You do this by praying, singing, praising God, listening to God’s words and confessing them. You take God’s name into your mouth full of love, reverence, and trust. You let God hear that you believe in him, and you do that together with other people who think the same way. This is how worship has been directed to God from the beginning of the world: liturgy. You join and participate in it, in church services, or where possibly no more than two or three are gathered in the name of Christ (Matthew 18:20), perhaps from your living room because you cannot go to the gathering due to, for example, fear of persecution. Thus, you join in the worldwide and continuous praise that is offered to God in heaven and on earth.
2. Have you been called by the Lord? Take that very literally. Has God made himself known to you and called you to belong to him? God calls worldwide (Acts 14:17, Acts 17:30), because he, for his part, wants all people to be saved and to come to acknowledge the truth (1 Timothy 2:4). No man can say that God has passed him by with his calling. For some people, this calling voice will sound more clearly than for others. Those who have come into contact with the Bible have received a more powerful calling than those who have had to miss out on that privilege. Those who received this calling from home, even as children, received an even greater privilege. In their case, this call was even underlined in the sacrament of baptism. In all kinds of ways and through all kinds of means God calls people to participate in the liturgy in his name.
3. Where do you seek your safety? God clearly points out a place where you will be safe. Joel points to Mount Zion and Jerusalem. In the Old Testament that was the place where the ark of God and the temple were standing. God was especially present there, although Israel knew very well that God was everywhere (see, e.g., 1 Chronicles 6:1–81). Seek God where he is (especially) to be found. In the New Testament, Christ shows even more clearly that God really does not tie himself to a building made of stone (John 4:23). That said, it is good to seek him where he especially wants to be present, that is, in his dwelling. In the Old Testament that was Jerusalem/Zion, while now it is the temple of the New Testament: the church (1 Corinthians 3:16).
Thankfully, there is salvation even as all creation perishes, because God calls his precious creatures (his people), and shows them the way and a place where they can survive the greatest judgment: by calling on him and joining those who seek him where and as he makes himself known. Then you will be eternally safe.
32 And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be those who escape, as the LORD has said, and among the survivors shall be those whom the LORD calls.