The Years the Locusts Ate

In Joel 2:25, Adonai promises that He will restore all that was destroyed in Israel. He promised to build Israel back up and He promised that they would never again be shamed. His only condition was that they turn from their wickedness and seek after Him once again. He promised them abundant life and that He would dwell among them. They would be His people and He their God. They would regain what they had lost and so much more. What a beautiful promise that was.

When we go through trying times and we feel as if our pain may never end, it can feel like the years the locusts ate. We may feel as if we have lost so much of our lives, or wasted it, and then we feel the pain from the grief of those losses. When we watch someone we love go through this, it is equally as painful. The locusts spread to our lives too, because it is very difficult to be happy and enjoy our own lives when someone we love so much is suffering. It is difficult to enjoy the good things that happen, because we want good things to happen to the person we love. We want that person to have all the joy and happiness in life that they can possibly have and when you do not see that happening for that person, it is hard to feel joy ourselves.

For me, the locusts have devoured much for someone I love. This person is finding it hard to hope, because she has not felt hope, or joy, in a very long time. This passage in Joel gives me encouragement though. Rather than thinking about that which the locusts ate, I look forward to the restoration coming. I know that God has a purpose for this person I love. She is special, so very special. He loves her with an everlasting love, more than I could ever love her and I love her more than life itself. So in her struggle and as we grieve for the years the locusts ate, God is working on us both.

In this painful time, God is teaching me patience and He is showing me how He wants us to wait on Him. He knows what each of us needs in order to become the people He wants us to be. Sometimes, becoming the best versions of ourselves requires trials. Trials refine us as fire refines silver. Just as the fire burns away all of the impurities in the metal, so do the trials we face in life, because those trials force us to learn and grow. I claim in advance that God is doing this work in the one I love and He will bring that work to its completion.

I thank the Lord in advance that He will restore the years the locusts ate. He will give back and rebuild the one I love. She will prosper and she will grow and thrive. She will be a testimony of God’s great wisdom and mercy. She will be a model for God’s love. This time of famine and drought is preparing her for the work she has yet to do. She will be a mighty woman of God! Yes, I claim this. My hope is in the Lord and I thank Him that all of this will be done. I will not allow the locusts to steal anymore from us, because I know God will give back what we have lost and much more. He is our God and we are His children.

If you feel grief stricken because of the years the locusts ate in your life, please know that God is able to restore you and rebuild your life. Allow His presence in your life. His love is everlasting and overflowing for you. He wants to see you live abundantly in joy and peace. Whatever it is that you are going through, please know it will all turn for your good if you allow yourself to be refined like silver. This pain is only temporary. Your joy is coming. Believe it! Claim it! I claim it for you. I will stand in the gap for you until you can claim it yourself. May God abundantly bless you and keep you.