Joel 2:25 (NKJV): So I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten, the crawling locust, the consuming locust, and the chewing locust, ...
The word 'restore' means 'to bring back into the original condition, or to bring back into wholeness the things/situations which have been broken'. It also means 'to put back into shape when something goes out of shape' or 'to sort it out when someone becomes out of sorts'.
So, people of God, if you feel that you have lost your time or opportunity (in career, relationships, ministry, or even in any other area of your life), there's good news for you. God can and will restore to you all those lost years. Just don't ask me how He's going to do it. His ways are always higher than ours (Isaiah 55:8-9). With men, it may be impossible, but with God, all things are possible (Luke 18:27). And to Him, a thousand years is as a day (see 2 Peter 3:8). He can accomplish in one day what humans (put together) can accomplish in 1,000 years! In other words, what human can accomplish (or achieve) in 1,000 years, He can accomplish the same within just one day!
This is the time and season when all that the enemy has stolen is being restored to you. And if you are one of those who felt that you've missed your time (and don't know how to 'catch up' any more), He is here to help you! Not only that, He can even cause you to 'overtake'! Amos 9:13 says, 'Behold, the days are coming, when the plowman shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes him who sows seed; the mountains shall drip with sweet wine (speaks of victory, breakthrough, and celebration), and all the hills shall flow with it'. Amen!
"But pastor, you don't understand the 'hell' that I've gone through all these years!"
Well, I may not understand, but is there anything too hard (difficult) for Him? Just don't fix your mindset (i.e. have a fixed mindset) that God must do it your way, and no other way. In fact, like a great portrait artist, He is in the midst of 'drawing' a masterpiece in you! Initially, you may not be able to understand (or decipher) what He is trying to 'draw' in your life, but you will know one day. Not just that, He can even (and is able) to do exceedingly abundantly above all you ask or think of! (Ephesians 3:20)
"Pastor, you are just talking big!"
As a matter of fact, I am not! I remember for the first 23 years of my life, I've been suffering from a severe speech impairment. Back then in my childhood years, my dad would send me to hospital for many rounds of speech therapy and treatment, but things did not improve. To be ridiculed, mocked at, and laughed at by my fellow schoolmates were a normal thing those days. Every time I was trying to say, "Good morning", I would sound like this: "Nood norning". As a consequence, I literally gave up speaking to people, became a loner, and with no real friends in sight!
But all these changed when I accepted Jesus Christ as my Personal Savior, and God miraculously healed me and restored to me all those years that have been stolen by the enemy. Today, I am a preacher and a teacher of the Word, and when I speak nowadays, I can't stop! Praise the Lord! On a more serious note, I am still amazed today how God turned my weakest area of my life (i.e. speech) and made me a preacher of His Word. This is definitely the grace (ability) of God, and not of myself. I am indeed grateful for His goodness and mercy in my life.
So, beloved, let your struggle cease today. Be at rest and be blessed. Look to Him and cast all those cares to Him, whatever your situation or condition may be at the moment. Receive the shalom peace that comes only from Him, knowing that He is still the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8), and just as He has spoken in Joel 2:25, He can also restore to you all that the enemy has stolen from you. Believing, you'll have it. In Jesus' name. Amen.
