When God Restores What the Locust Eat

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When God Restores What the Locusts Eat
TGIF Today God Is First Volume 1, by Os Hillman

"I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten - the great locust and the young locust, the other locusts and the locust swarm - My great army that I sent among you." - Joel 2:25

There are seasons in our lives that involve times of famine and times of restoration. Solomon tells us that He has made everything beautiful in its time and that there is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under Heaven. (See Ecclesiastes 3:1,11.)

God brings about both the good and the bad. The seasons of famine have a divine purpose in our lives. They accomplish things that only these hard places can accomplish. But there is a time when those hard places have accomplished their purpose and He begins to restore. God did this with the nation of Israel after a season of famine and devastation.

Be glad, O people of Zion, rejoice in the Lord your God, for He has given you the autumn rains in righteousness. He sends you abundant showers, both autumn and spring rains, as before. The threshing floors will be filled with grain; the vats will overflow with new wine and oil. "I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten - the great locust and the young locust, the other locusts and the locust swarm - My great army that I sent among you. You will have plenty to eat, until you are full, and you will praise the name of the Lord your God, who has worked wonders for you; never again will My people be shamed. Then you will know that I am in Israel, that I am the Lord your God, and that there is no other; never again will My people be shamed" (Joel 2:23-27).

God wants each of us to know that there is a time when He will restore in order to demonstrate His gracious hand in our lives. He is a loving Father who tenderly guides His children through the difficult places. If God has taken you through a time of leanness, know that He is the restorer of that which the locusts have eaten. Wait patiently for Him to bring this about in your life. He will do it.


Today's Prayer

Heavenly Father when I'm going through tough times, I become upset and uneasy. But then I look and consider Joseph and I try and think about all that he went through, it is then that see where that led, Now, I understand that You have a plan for us in all that happens. If Joseph had not been put in that pit, then sold into slavery, then taken to the rulers, he would not have been in the place to save his family nor the children of Israel. Lord, please help me remember Joseph and his outcome when I'm in the midst of troubles I don't understand. I pray that my outcome will be a "Joseph outcome," accomplishing Your purpose. Do what is necessary to use my gifts and talents for Your eternal Kingdom. In Jesus' precious name I pray, Amen.

Today God Is First (TGIF) devotional message, Copyright by Os Hillman, Marketplace Leaders