Devotions: Final Restoration

 

Then I will make up to you for the years
That the swarming locust has eaten,
The creeping locust, the stripping locust and the gnawing locust,
My great army which I sent among you.
You will have plenty to eat and be satisfied
And praise the name of the Lord your God,
Who has dealt wondrously with you;
Then My people will never be put to shame.
Thus you will know that I am in the midst of Israel,
And that I am the Lord your God,
And there is no other;
And My people will never be put to shame.

Joel 2:25-27 New American Standard Bible 1995

 

Judah had sinned. Big time. What’s worse, they refused to repent. God gave them so many chances, but they pridefully, stubbornly stayed in their wrong ways. As a result God punished them. He sent famine, swarms of locusts and enemies to invade and exile them. Yet that wasn’t the end. God would forgive and restore them. He would undo everything that had been done, after they learned their lesson. All this went together to show them who the real God is.

God is a good Father, a perfect Father. Because of this, He will not excuse or ignore sin, but will gently guide and convict us so that we will repent. Just like Judah, if we refuse He will use harsher and more blatant circumstances to get our attention. My doctor once told me that He believes God speaks to us through people; the first person to tell us something is a tap, the second is a slap, the third is a 2x4. We need to be aware of God’s voice and humble enough to heed the warnings when they come. If we are not, we will pay the consequences of our sin, arrogance and hard headedness. But even if things do come to that extreme, that is not the end. There is always time to repent. Death is the only dead line. When we repent, God will restore. He will not punish nor keep His anger forever. He does not delight in punishing, but in restoring because of His love for us and His glory. We can take heart when we are experiencing punishment for our bad choices and actions, this is not the end. There is hope. We need only repent and wait for God to restore us.

What are you going through? Do you feel like God has sent a famine and locusts to strip everything away? Ask God to reveal if there is any unrepented sin in your heart. Confess your sin, ask God to forgive you, turn away from it and wait for His restoration!

 

 

 

To view a video of this devo, visit my facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/evelynbray.author

To receive these devotions daily, like my page or subscribe to my blog by entering your email in the subscription box to the right!