Joel 2:21-26
21 Fear not, O land; be glad and rejoice: for the LORD will do great things.
22 Be not afraid, ye beasts of the field: for the pastures of the wilderness do spring, for the tree beareth her fruit, the fig tree and the vine do yield their strength.
23 Be glad then, ye children of Zion, and rejoice in the LORD your God: for he hath given you the former rain moderately, and he will cause to come down for you the rain, the former rain, and the latter rain in the first month.
24 And the floors shall be full of wheat, and the vats shall overflow with wine and oil.
25 And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the cankerworm, and the caterpiller, and the palmerworm, my great army which I sent among you.
26 And ye shall eat in plenty, and be satisfied, and praise the name of the LORD your God, that hath dealt wondrously with you: and my people shall never be ashamed.
Promises, Promises...
The promises of God are yea and amen to the glory of God in us, according to 2 Corinthians 1:20. That means He means what He says.
Take a close look at the promises laid out in Joel 2. I especially want to highlight verse 25...."and I will restore to your the years that the locust hath eaten".
I am a biologist by training. I spent a year in college studying bugs. Locusts are strange creatures. They start out as harmless grasshoppers and then after some environmental or chemical trigger, their whole body and social structure changes. They go from being harmless, solitary creatures that children like to catch to a highly destructive swarm. They move as an army, eating everything in site. They eat any organic thing. Old stuff, new stuff, dead stuff. They don't care. They just eat and eat and eat, leaving only the dust of the ground.
Sometimes, in the winter months, its easy to feel like a swarm of locusts has just plowed through your life. The hustle and bustle of the holiday season gives way to blasts of cold, rain, snow and ice. Two weeks ago you might have been surrounded by family and friends. Now you find yourself alone, in an empty house with only the bills from overspending during the holidays to keep you company. Its not a pretty picture, but...
Oh, but the promises of God.
He didn't just say he would bring new crops or just offer us the promise of spring, but that He would RESTORE the years that the locust had eaten. See, when the swarms invade, they eat the plant that's growing as well as the seed it carries. All the prosperity that was held in the seed gets destroyed. But yourFather in Heaven gave His Word that He would not only restore the plant, but the YEARS that the locusts ate. The years behind in starting the plant, and THE YEARS AHEAD that were contained in the seed.
You have complete and total promises from God. He cares about your past and your future. Because that's what its like to be in relationship with someone...they care about all of you, who you are, and who you'll be.
Shake off the cold, loved ones. Set aside your regrets and your disappointments from the past. You Father has promised to restore the years that were stolen. Take a cue from David, who, upon hearing that his son had died, got up, washed his face and moved on in his calling as a King. Choose not to wallow in the pain, but instead, start right where you are and move in your calling, your assignment, your life in Christ.
All that lies ahead for your is restoration, plenty, abundance, peace like a river, joy unspeakable, love, mercy, longsuffering,....
He promises.
2 Corinthians 1:13-20
13 For we write none other things unto you, that what ye read or acknowledge; and I trust ye shall acknowledge even to the end;
14 As also ye have acknowledged us in part, that we are your rejoicing, even as ye also are our's in the day of the Lord Jesus.
15 And in this confidence I was minded to come unto you before, that ye might have a second benefit;
16 And to pass by you into Macedonia, and to come again out of Macedonia unto you, and of you to be brought on my way toward Judaea.
17 When I therefore was thus minded, did I use lightness? or the things that I purpose, do I purpose according to the flesh, that with me there should be yea yea, and nay nay?
18 But as God is true, our word toward you was not yea and nay.
19 For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us, even by me and Silvanus and Timotheus, was not yea and nay, but in him was yea.
20 For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us.
For a full list of the promises of God, consult your Bible, and then join us at Fellowship. We'd love to explore and realize them with you.
Peace and restoration.
Evg. Stephanie Robinson
Fellowship Church
455 Hwy 138, Ste C
Alton Watkins, Pastor
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