2 Kings 8:6: ” . . . So the king appointed a certain officer for the [Shunammite woman], saying, ‘Restore all that was hers, and all the proceeds of the field from the day that she left the land until now.'”

August 2nd, 2023 by Pastor Ed in devotional

In chapter 4, the prophet Elisha raised a Shunammite woman’s son from the dead, and then warned her of a famine that was coming. She moved her family away for the 7 years of the famine. After it was over, she came back and asked the king for her land and house. Notice that the king returned everything she owned, including earnings from the land while she was gone.

There is a beautiful promise in the Book of Joel:

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. (2:25)

This is a great promise from the Lord to the nation: “I will restore to you the years.” But this promise also applies to individuals.

There is a world famous clock in Strasbourg Cathedral. It is both beautiful and well crafted. Even a long time after the clock was installed and working well, the maker was not paid for his work. Finally, offended, he came one day and touched a critical spring, stopping the clock. Seeking to go around the original maker the officials called in other mechanics and artisans, but they failed to be able to restore the disordered mechanism. They finally had to pay the original maker. He came, touched the inner springs, and set it in motion again. Instantly all its multiplied parts, obedient to his will, began to revolve. When he, by a simply touch, first suspended and then restored all the intricate movements of the clock, he gave convincing proof that he was its maker and master. God the Son, Jesus Christ, restores lost years because He is the Redeemer. God is able, more than able, to do more than we ask or think in our lives.

“Thank You, LORD, for your redeeming and restoring work in our lives. We give this day back to You that You might further Your kingdom through us.”