Joel 2:25 ASV
And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the canker-worm, and the caterpillar, and the palmer-worm, my great army which I sent among you.
As humans, we will often experience bad things and bear loss. Yet the same God who brings disaster when his people sin is also the God of mercy and abundant grace. He can give back what was taken, stolen, lost, and damaged.
The God whom we serve is not only a covenant-keeping God who fulfils everything He has ever promised but is also the God of restoration who gives back everything lost. He’s done it before, and He’ll keep doing it.
There is a thief who keeps destroying and stealing from us the original state of God’s intentions for mankind by deception. John 10:10 says he has stolen from our peace, joy, unity, health, prosperity and many more and instead, we ended up with hatred, strife, bitterness, jealousy, perversion, -sickness, disease and many more. The power of God’s restoration goes beyond our imagination and need, it transcends the physical because God knows that physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual wholeness is a useful and essential tool in His hands and army.
I will repay you for the years…. says the Lord, verse 25.
What exactly is God offering in His repayment package? What did you do, what loss did you suffer, what was stolen or damaged that He says He will repay?
The answer is ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING. There is no limit to what He can pay back by restoration, if in doubt, check it out in Job’s book of life: total restoration.
The Shunamite woman’s restoration to life and wealth in 2 kings 4:8-17, 8:1-6.
Restoration of vision. Your vision may have been lost or misplaced but the Lord can and will restore your vision, the ability to see clearer, better, and further. To see beyond your physical eyes and current situation according to Proverbs 29:18.
Restoration of hope: the optimistic attitude of mind of expectation of positive outcomes. As Romans 8:24-25 says, hope needs to be mingled with faith to receive from the Lord.
The Lord can restore confidence, yours may have been undermined by life’s experiences, eroded by someone or even you’ve lost confidence in God if you trust Him according to Hebrews 13:6.
Restoration to health, God wants to restore us to health says Jeremiah 30:17, after all, the thirty-nine stripes on Jesus’s back are for our healing. Allow God to restore you to wholeness from whatever sickness has taken from you.
What kind of restoration does God want to give you?
Isaiah 43:18-19 tells us He will bring Joel 2:25 to pass, but first, you need to forget all the history plaguing you and move forward towards the brand-new thing the Lord has in store that will be most wonderful compared to what you’ve lost or suffered. Brand new means, you never had that before and as it always is with God, it will surpass anything you have ever known.
The Lord’s restoration surpasses anything you can imagine, He gives you more than like for like, more than you asked for, more than you deserve and more than you can hold so that you have more than enough and more to give away in blessings.
Ask the God of restoration to set to work on your behalf in bringing restoration to every area of your life that requires His touch, in everything. Your restoration is on the way.
Shalom