Restoration

Fear not, O land; be glad and rejoice, for the Lord has done great things! Fear not, you beasts of the field, for the pastures of the wilderness are green; the tree bears its fruit; the fig tree and vine give their full yield. _{Joel 2:21-22}

God’s punishment for sin was a very real experience for the children of Israel. Their constant disobedience of God’s laws and their disregard for him as their Lord caused a great division in the union between them. Giving way to sin is like giving way to an army of locusts, for the only thing that sin brings is destruction. ‘Like blackness spread upon the mountains…the land is like the garden of Eden before them, but behind them a desolate wilderness, and nothing escapes them’ ^(2:2-3). What a powerful visual image of the devastation that sin can leave behind; the damage that it can cause and the loss that it brings.

“Yet even now” declare the Lord, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; and rend your hearts and not your garments.” Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. _{Joel 2:12-13}

God’s anger always gives way to mercy and he makes a way for us to return to him through genuine repentance. God does not need, or want, a big show of phony tears. What he does want is a sincere rending of our hearts and a turning back to him. By his grace he sends the rains of healing and with it comes a promise – “I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten” ^(2:25).

We know that we cannot get back wasted time, and wasted years definitely cannot be reclaimed. Charles Spurgeon explains it like this: ‘Time once past is gone forever. You cannot have back your time; but there is a strange and wonderful way in which God can give back to you the wasted blessings, the unripened fruits of years over which you mourn. The fruits of wasted years may yet be yours.’

When God restores, it is completely, and it is done generously, so hand back those wasted days that weigh heavy on your mind, and let the healing rains of God’s grace fall upon you.