What The Locust Ate God Will Restore

Do you remember when the locusts came to destroy your life, the humming, the cloud that darken your world and suddenly rained down insects. I do. It happened a long while back and they darkened my world for a time. Yesterday, I heard my pastor preaching and I was reminded of that season.

My pastor preached a sermon which he called “A Wonderful Future After a Horrible Past”

The text verse was Joel 2:25-27

A three point sermon that described:

The devastation that comes “when locusts come to destroy your crops” Complete destruction and devouring. Desolation to such a degree, that even when recovery came and a person is able to be back on her feet and functioning again, inside she chooses to remain trapped in the past. She's afraid of the "what ifs" and also angry at "what was!" Her future growth is stunted. Psalms 78:46.  Strongholds of the past have an iron grip that reaches into future generations. Family curses that cycle from the parents down to the grandchildren. It is a terrible thing to see your child caught up in your old habit, doing that ugly thing that you got from your mother. Yet, my pastor preached that these curses are there because we allow the past to chain us up. He reminded us that there is hope in our situations of life. Jesus can break those family curses. Oh I was so glad when he reminded us of the power of the blood of Jesus.

He called point two “Preventing Regrets” He aimed this point at the youth of our congregation. Ecclesiastes 11:9 and Proverbs 22:3 He Touched on allowing God into your life from youth this way we will not be haunted by regrets. Many hardships can be avoided and there will not have to be a hole or a scar because we chose to live without the counsel of God in our lives.(Ps. 119: 6-8) He told the young people, that surrounding themselves with wise, godly people is “safety in a multitude of counselors” (Proverbs 11:14) I can attest to this, when I was 18 and barely living life on “adult soil” I was born again. and I do not regret living my life for Christ all of my adult life.

He wrapped up his sermon with the importance of leaving our past in the past. “Greatest foolishness is to waste your time regretting” But, Satan is a fanatic, one who never changes the subject. If the paste can destroy us, he’ll keep on bringing it up. (Psalms 13:1)

He hit hard on the terrible act of throwing someone's past in their face to manipulate them into doing things your way. (Rev. 12:10) He didn’t necessarily mention married couples but I know that this happens in marriage. I’ve been guilty of holding on to a hurt and then reminding my husband of it. Ouch! I really don’t want to be that person. He quoted “Only a fool lets his past dictate his present” I let out a heavy sigh, because I've allowed past failure to stop me from doing things.

He said that a hopeful future is a choice. “When the devil reminds me of my past I remind him of his future.” Then he quoted one of his favorite scriptures: Gen 41:51 “Joseph named his firstborn Mannaseh and said “God has made me forget all my trouble…” And you know, I had to admit that God has healed me so much that if I remember a painful time in the past, the memory remains, but the pain is gone, as if I've forgotten completely.

 At the altar, there was hardly a place to sit and pray. I went to the altar so grateful for my God who saves.  “I will give you back what you lost to the swarming locusts, the hopping locusts, the stripping locusts and the cutting locusts.” I remembered the day that very verse in Joel was given to me by my first pastor. It had been a time of devastation in my life, I was functioning because I had responsibilities but inside I felt hopeless. I was right in the midst of the assembly and I was parched. I worshiped God,  but I was broken and I couldn’t dip into his refreshing spring of water that was available to me. God saw me in that desert and rescued me. That word was given to me about 23 years ago. I thank God always for his hand in my life. He gave me strength when I was weak. He gave me life when I was dead inside. He renewed my spirit and I was able to press in and hold fast to the gift of salvation and see the restoration of God in my own life. I wish I could tell you that the locusts won’t ever come. I can’t, but, what I can tell you is that God does bring restoration.