God Will Restore

Joel 2:25-26
So I will restore to you the years that the swarming locusts has eaten, the crawling locusts, the consuming locust, and the chewing locust...you shall eat 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.

Locusts are a group of insects that terrorize many a harvest. They can swoop in and devour whole crops in minutes. They have often been associated with God’s wrath for disobedience. One of the Plagues of Egypt in the Bible was a swarm of locusts, which ate all the crops of Egypt.

In her novel On the Banks of Plum Creek, Laura Ingalls Wilder writes of a "glittering cloud" of locusts so large it blocked out the sun as it approached. The swarm descended upon her family's farm near Walnut Grove, Minnesota, destroying a month's wheat crop and stripping the prairie bare of all vegetation. In this book of Joel, the prophet calls them God’s army. Joel was using this swarm of locusts that invaded Judah as a warning for the people of Israel to wake up from their spiritual apathy. If they would Repent, God would Relent and begin Restoration.

We can all think of ways that Locusts have eaten away at our harvest because of our own disobedience. Whether it is individual or collective disobedience, God has a way of getting our attention and sometimes the army of locusts have a way of eating our harvest.

1. We have had Swarming Locusts. This recession swept in like a cloud of Locusts and devoured jobs, finances, business in minutes.

2. What the swarming locusts didn’t eat the crawling locusts came in and ate. Bill collectors, Repo men, and banks came to eat up what the recession left behind.

3. Consuming locusts came after the crawling locusts, fear, anxiety, and depression tried to eat away at our peace.

4. Chewing locusts are the negative and toxic thoughts gnawing away at our sanity. The devil wants you to believe that this locusts attack is the end of your destiny. This bare eaten field, that empty bank account, your state of unemployment. This is not the end. God has the last say so.

When we turn our thoughts and our hearts back to God He said He would restore what the Locusts have eaten! How do we turn back to God to end this locusts attack?

1. Rend your heart not your clothes. It’s not enough to be outwardly sorrowful or religious but you must have a broken heart & a contrite sprit.

Psalm 51:
16 You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it;
you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.
17 The sacrifices of God are a
broken spirit;
a broken and contrite heart,
O God, you will not despise.

2. Return to the Lord. When we repent, we are making a legal U-Turn. We were headed in the wrong direction and God allows us to make a legal U-turn in the right direction. When we Repent, God will relent of his judgment. Because of his mercies we are not consumed.

3. Praise the Lord. David said I will bless the Lord at all times and his praise shall continuously be on my lips. We have got to praise God in good times and in bad times.

When we do this, Restoration will come. Everything that got ate up God will give it back and God’s people will never be put to shame. Restoration has finally come; I’m getting back to my place in God.

Dear God, thank you for relenting and not allowing me to be consumed by the locusts. There was some stuff eating at me that I had done and some stuff I had no control over, but because of your mercies, we are not consumed. I’m coming back to you, for you are my keeper and my sustainer. Thank you for restoration!

In Jesus Name,

Amen.