It’s Not Too Late
We’ve all been through seasons in life where it feels like we’ve lost time. Perhaps it’s the years lost in a relationship that didn’t work out, or the years of struggle with an illness or an addiction. Maybe we weren’t raised in a healthy environment, and it feels like we lost our childhood and can never get it back. Perhaps it’s the years we let fear and opposition hold us back from pursuing our dreams. But God says, “I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten” (Joel 2:25). While it’s true in the natural that we can’t get time back, we serve a supernatural God who knows how to make up for lost time. He’s not going to just restore the years you lost, He is going to make the rest of your life so fulfilling that you don’t think about what you’ve been through.
In this passage from the book of Joel, the Israelites had planted and labored over their crops, but for years at harvest time swarms of locusts came in, like a mighty army, and ate up all the crops. Imagine how their hearts sank in discouragement seeing their crops wiped out. They were tempted to give up. But when they thought they would never see a harvest, God spoke to them and said in effect, “I know it hasn’t been fair. I’ve seen what’s been stolen. I’m going to restore the years that you’ve lost. Your threshing floors will be full of grain, your storehouses will overflow with wheat and oil, and you will have an abundance and be satisfied.” Notice what happens when God restores: abundance, overflow, more than enough. They had been in famine, but suddenly God turned it around and paid them back in abundance for what should have been theirs.
It may seem like it’s too late, like you’ve missed your season. No, there’s still time. You’re going to still get a harvest from all those years you prayed, those years you believed, those years you did the right thing, worked hard, and helped others. That harvest has been stored up, and it’s on the way. God is not going to just free you, just heal you, just turn your children around, but He’s going to restore the years that you’ve lost. The enemy may think he took it, but God has the final say. He has blessings stored up for you. When He restores the years, you’re going to be more fulfilled than you’ve ever been. You’re going to be healthier and stronger. You’re going to have relationships better than you’ve ever dreamed. You’re going to overflow with blessings, overflow with joy, overflow with favor.
In this passage from the book of Joel, the Israelites had planted and labored over their crops, but for years at harvest time swarms of locusts came in, like a mighty army, and ate up all the crops. Imagine how their hearts sank in discouragement seeing their crops wiped out. They were tempted to give up. But when they thought they would never see a harvest, God spoke to them and said in effect, “I know it hasn’t been fair. I’ve seen what’s been stolen. I’m going to restore the years that you’ve lost. Your threshing floors will be full of grain, your storehouses will overflow with wheat and oil, and you will have an abundance and be satisfied.” Notice what happens when God restores: abundance, overflow, more than enough. They had been in famine, but suddenly God turned it around and paid them back in abundance for what should have been theirs.
It may seem like it’s too late, like you’ve missed your season. No, there’s still time. You’re going to still get a harvest from all those years you prayed, those years you believed, those years you did the right thing, worked hard, and helped others. That harvest has been stored up, and it’s on the way. God is not going to just free you, just heal you, just turn your children around, but He’s going to restore the years that you’ve lost. The enemy may think he took it, but God has the final say. He has blessings stored up for you. When He restores the years, you’re going to be more fulfilled than you’ve ever been. You’re going to be healthier and stronger. You’re going to have relationships better than you’ve ever dreamed. You’re going to overflow with blessings, overflow with joy, overflow with favor.