I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten– the great locust and
the young locust, the other locusts and the locust swarm– my great army
that I sent among you (Joel 2:25).
There are seasons in our lives that involve times of famine and times of
restoration. Solomon tells us that He has made everything beautiful in its
time and that there is a time for everything, and a season for every
activity under heaven. (Ecclesiastes 3:1,11).
God brings about both the good and the bad. The seasons of famine have a
divine purpose in our lives. They accomplish things that only these hard
places can accomplish. But there is a time when those hard places have
accomplished their purpose and He begins to restore. God did this with the
nation of Israel after a season of famine and devastation.
Be glad, O people of Zion, rejoice in the LORD your God, for he has given
you the autumn rains in righteousness. He sends you abundant showers, both
autumn and spring rains, as before. The threshing floors will be filled with
grain; the vats will overflow with new wine and oil. I will repay you for
the years the locusts have eaten– the great locust and the young locust,
the other locusts and the locust swarm– my great army that I sent among
you. You will have plenty to eat, until you are full, and you will praise
the name of the LORD your God, who has worked wonders for you; never again
will my people be shamed. Then you will know that I am in Israel, that I am
the LORD your God, and that there is no other; never again will my people be
shamed (Joel 2:23-27)
God wants each of us to know that there is a time when He will restore in
order to demonstrate His restoring hand in our lives. He is a loving father
who tenderly guides His children through the difficult places. If God has
taken you through a time of leanness, know that He is the restorer of that
which the locusts have eaten. Wait patiently for Him to bring this about in
your life. He will do it.