“And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten…” Joel 2:25a
This verse was given to my father nearly six years ago when my younger brother walked out of our house – yet to return. I think of it often when I pray for Daniel, wondering how such a promise could come true. For it has been nearly six long, hard years. And from what I know of my brother’s life, he has pursued a wide path over the narrow one every time.
The pastor of my church here in
What the cutting locust left, the swarming locust has eaten. What the swarming locust left, the hopping locust has eaten, and what the hopping locust left, the destroying locust has eaten.
Reading it in that version, it gave me the picture that what one locust did not eat, the next – worse – type came to eat, and then again and again until nothing was left in the land. God sent my great army (2:25) to completely destroy the land of His people. No food to eat, no crops to buy or sell, not even a blade of grass to run their bare feet through. Complete annihilation.
And from that I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten. In my limited mind, the very idea that complete destruction can be restored is beyond comprehension. For it isn’t just about going from nothing to everything. “Restore” denotes recovery and return as if the locusts had never swarmed at all. Try to get your mind around that.
Sometimes in life, it seems like God is after our complete destruction. Wouldn’t it be enough if the prodigal just ran away? Instead, he spends his living among harlots and riotous living. Or wasn’t it enough for Job to lose his livelihood and family? Did he have to lose his health, too? And yet…the prodigal returned and Job was given twice as much as he had before.
It’s very hard to see how completely destroyed years can be restored. But God can do it. We must trust Him…even if it takes a lifetime.
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