Restoration

In Joel 2:25,26, God says this:

“Then I will make up to you for the years
That the swarming locust has eaten,
The creeping locust, the stripping locust and the gnawing locust,
My great army which I sent among you.

 

"You will have plenty to eat and be satisfied
And praise the name of the LORD your God,
Who has dealt wondrously with you;
Then My people will never be put to shame."

 

The prophet Joel prophesied around 830 B.C. during the reign of King Josiah.  He speaks of plagues and locusts and, although there are no historical events to link his prophecy to, it has meaning in that is shows God's judgment and also God's mercy.

 

 

This also has meaning for our own lives.  All of us have gone through things that have subtracted from us.  I can speak for myself that during my wife's bout with cancer, I was in a fog for almost that entire period.  I was at a low point because of the extreme stress that we were under in dealing with the doctor's visits, the care taking, the housekeeping and the brunt of the work falling to me.  I got to a point where my brain would just shut down.  Maybe it was a defense mechanism to keep me from burning out, but I had no real inspiration to write, I couldn't really think clearly and I was just seeking God's mercy to get through the day.  It seemed as if everything that I knew dried up.  My memory seemed shot in that there were scriptures that I had known for a long time that were, all of a sudden, hard to remember.

 

In retrospect, I was in the furnace of life and there were some moments where Satan seized an opportunity to kick me when I was down.  But even those hard things had a purpose as I have seemingly been revived.  I never left God's Word, I didn't lose faith...I was simply in a funk that I now realize was a fire designed to move me somewhere different in God.  I thank God for it.

 

Here is the blessing, no matter what we have dealt with in life, God is a restorer.  In the text, He says that He will restore all of the years that were taken away because of the different pestilences that befell the people.  He will do the same thing for us.  Those of us in hard places, rest assured that as long as our focus remains on Jesus, we will eventually be restored and come forth as pure gold.  Not only does God restore, he does so bountifully.  The scripture says that we will have plenty!  And as a result, we should praise His name because He is truly praiseworthy!  I love the Lord because of his steadfast love and His mercy!  I thank God that restoration is not a fleeting occurrence but one that is perpetual- we lose, God restores.  If you would, in your prayers today, thank God for His restorative power!