“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.” (Joel 2:25, NKJV)
When I read this verse, I can’t help but substitute words for “Locust.” Words like “cancer,” “loss of jobs,” “relationship problems,” “lack of finances,” etc.
Think about it: These problems and circumstances “swarm” all over us. In the case of medical concerns, they “crawl” through our bodies, “consuming” our organs, our bones, even our blood cells, “chewing away” at our health, our strength and our energy. In the case of other kinds of problems, the “crawl” through our families, “chewing away” at our relationships, our finances, our homes. But perhaps the worst part is that they also “crawl” all over our emotions, they “consume” our futures and “chew” away at our hope.
But God has said, “I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten…”
For anyone who finds themselves in dire circumstances this week, this is the promise I challenge you to hold on to. God has not abandoned us to the “swarming locust” of problems. True enough, He has allowed it for awhile (note the end of the verse: “…My great army which I sent among you.”), but this is not the end. No, not only does God promise us that He will “restore” the stolen years, but the promises do not stop here. Consider the preceding verses:
“Behold, I will send you grain and new wine and oil, And you will be satisfied by them; I will no longer make you a reproach among the nations. But I will remove far from you the northern army, And will drive him away into a barren and desolate land…Fear not, O land; Be glad and rejoice, For the LORD has done marvelous things! Do not be afraid, you beasts of the field; For the open pastures are springing up, And the tree bears its fruit; The fig tree and the vine yield their strength. Be glad then, you children of Zion, And rejoice in the LORD your God; For He has given you the former rain faithfully, And He will cause the rain to come down for you– The former rain, And the latter rain in the first month. The threshing floors shall be full of wheat, And the vats shall overflow with new wine and oil.” (Joel 2:19-24, NKJV)
And if this promise isn’t encouraging enough…“You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, And praise the name of the LORD your God, Who has dealt wondrously with you; And My people shall never be put to shame.” (Joel 2:26-27, NKJV)!
Take courage my friends. Trials, problems and circumstances do not have the last word. God does! And God has promised to restore what the locust of cancer has eaten.
Is this just an automatic promise? What needs to happen to set this promise into motion?
Joel 2 has the answer to that question as well: “Let the priests, who minister to the LORD, Weep between the porch and the altar; Let them say, ‘Spare Your people, O LORD…“ (Joel 2:17, NKJV).
It takes intermediary prayer to set this all into motion! We simply need to ask God! Or, as it is so aptly stated in another place, “…you do not have because you do not ask” (Jas 4:2, NKJV)!
Friends, the “locust” of trials can eat away our hope. It can swarm our lives and consume our health, but God has promised to restore, as long as we ask. Will you join me in standing up and pleading the case of each person who reads this devotional? Each person who has been diagnosed with cancer or other equally horrible medical diagnoses? Who has lost a job or a beloved family member? Who is in dire financial straits? Let’s join together in asking God to restore, to spare His people, to not let them succumb to the “reproach” of their trials. For in the end, God has promised to “restore what the swarming locust has eaten!“
Father God, we come to You, and we “Weep between the porch and the altar.” We beg You Lord, “Spare Your people.” Keep Your promise, oh God, and restore to us “the years that the swarming locust has eaten…” In the precious name of Jesus, Amen.
In His love,
Lyn
Lyn Chaffart, Speech-Language Pathologist, mother of two, Author — “Aboard God’s Train — A Journey With God Through the Valley of Cancer”, Author and Moderator for The Nugget, a tri-weekly internet newsletter, and Scriptural Nuggets, a website devoted to Christian devotionals and inspirational poems, with Answers2Prayer Ministries. Follow Lyn on Twitter @lynchaffart.