God Restores Time

Have you ever wanted to turn back time? The truth is, time is something we never get back. Maybe this leaves you feeling regretful or sad about years that have been wasted or time not well spent on the things that really matter. Here is some powerful encouragement for all of us today. God promises that He takes back time!  

“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 NIV).

This promise was given to God’s people who had suffered the complete destruction of their harvest through swarms of locusts. For four consecutive years, the harvest had been completely wiped out. God’s people were brought to their knees. 

But God had compassion on His people, and in the coming years, there would be an abundance that would make up for what had been lost.  

Be glad, people of Zion, rejoice in the Lord your God, for he has given you the autumn rains because he is faithful. 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 (Joel 2:23-24).

This wonderful promise meant that years of abundant harvests would follow the years of desolation brought about by the locusts. And God has put this promise in the Bible for us today, as well.

What do “lost years” look like for us? They can come in many varieties: painful, fruitless, selfish, loveless, rebellious or unproductive. Do you hear what Scripture is telling us? God can restore your lost “locust” years. He does so in a very personal way. 

The word restore literally means “comfort and redemption.” The story of Ruth and Boaz illustrates this, and you can read the book of Ruth for the full details. Boaz acts as Ruth’s kinsman redeemer by making a commitment to stand up and champion her as a member of his family. It was a decisive action on his part to pay whatever it cost for Ruth and her family to have freedom, release and restoration.  All the broken years of Ruth’s life were restored through this act of Boaz, who paid the cost and welcomed her into his family.  

Do you see it? That’s what Jesus does for us. He sees our broken past, our years that the enemy has stolen from us, and He paid the ultimate cost with His very life so that we can be free, released from the past and restored into a new life—an abundant life!  

“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 2:26-27).

I know this to be true. God brought comfort and redemption to me and my family after years that the enemy had stolen. God gave us Himself, He comforted us, and He is giving us a bountiful harvest that we could never have imagined. He will take what seems like a waste and turn it into something beautiful if we let Him. Our lost years are not lost with God. He is a God that takes back time and turns it into a bumper crop! That is courageous living.

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Scripture is quoted from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.