restored from the swarm

I will restore to you the years

that the swarming locust has eaten…

Joel 2:25a

God sent judgment to Judah in the form of a locust plague that destroyed multiple crops. In an agrarian society this was devastation. It led to financial collapse and famine. It eventually was a foretaste of the bigger Day of the Lord to come. And it was all God’s plan. Yes… a good God brought hard experiences so that in the pain He might be found.

It was also God’s plan that a just God would be a good God in restoration. The God Who takes away also restores new life. The Judge whose justice judges sin is also the Renewer Who forgives and fills hearts again with life and joy.

And this is still how God works. Through the means of the cross and in an empty tomb Jesus always restores what sin and death have devoured. And in our lives, when the locust swarm of loss, sorrow, grief, or sadness eats away at our increase, God will, in mercy and grace see us and restore us as we learn in a season that our lives do not consist in the stuff of this world that we want to place our trust upon! Those sorrows may come in swarms… the feeling of loss may last for years, but God is working on an eternal scale, so hang on… God is what we have always needed most.

The promise: “You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, and praise the name of the LORD your God, Who has dealt wondrously with you.” Joel 2:26.

Did you see that word “wondrously”? Well… it is! AMEN!!!!