Joel 2:25: “So I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten, / The crawling locust, / The consuming locust, / And the chewing locust, / My great army which I sent among you.”

November 8th, 2021 by Pastor Ed in devotional

After prophesying their destruction by locusts, drought, and a mighty army, God gave Joel a prophecy of His goodness and mercy for His people. We find here a beautiful spiritual promise of restoration for Israel, but it is also true for every stumbling believer who has ever walked away from God for a season. Sin always has a destructive effect in a person’s life, especially those who have given themselves over to drugs or alcohol. It results in wasted days, months, and even years, often leaving an imprint on face and body. But when they turn their life back over to God, He promises to restore and make that person’s life new again. All those wasted years are redeemed and restored by our merciful and gracious God.

For the nation of Israel particularly, God has promised to establish and restore them after being scattered over the face of the earth. Many of us have watched in amazement as Abraham’s children are being gathered back to the land even to this day. As we watch God faithfully restoring them, we should be encouraged that He will also reestablish us if we have fallen away.

In 1972, a deranged man attacked the Pietà (a sculpture of Mary holding Jesus on her lap after He was taken down from the cross) by Michelangelo in St. Peter’s Cathedral, Rome. The man severely damaged the world’s most famous sculpture with a hammer. When he was removed and the damage assessed, was the priceless work of art discarded because it was broken? Of course not, in fact, no effort was spared as the world’s most reputable art restorers were immediately called in to restore the piece as completely as humanly possible. If that is the lengths man will go to in order to repair his inanimate creation, what lengths will God go to in order to restore His living, breathing creation, which He made in His own image? God is the ultimate restorer, and when we come to Him, damaged and looking for restoration, He makes all things better than new, for eternity.

“LORD, thank You for Your forgiveness, so freely give to us when we simply turn back to You and confess our sins. Restore us again.”