I will restore the years that the locusts have eaten

I have gone through a whole gamut of emotions this morning, following a difficult conversation I had last night with a loved one who is not serving the Lord. The first emotion was grief, grief at what the thief has stolen, killed and destroyed (John 10:10a), grief at the various states of devastation left in the wake of generational baggage that for the longest time I did not even know existed (Exodus 20:5). You cannot address issues you are not aware of! But God..... (Genesis 20:6).

The verse at the head of this post from Joel 2:25 relates back to Joel 1:4 which says “What the gnawing locust has left, the swarming locust has eaten; And what the swarming locust has left, the creeping locust has eaten;  And what the creeping locust has left, the stripping locust has eaten.” The thing to notice here, is that there is a progression of devastation. It describes many of our lives!

I know what to do at times like this, I need to go over the promises that He has given me, and I need to sit before Him in His presence until he restores peace and hope and joy (Genesis 32:26). I am probably repeating myself here, but I have learned that I need to contend for the promises that God has given me. The promise from Joel 1:4 was given to me many, many years ago. And God has been faithful in my own life, but it is not yet fulfilled in those I love, in those I hold in my heart. So I am stirred up this morning, to contend for this promise to be fulfilled in my loved ones too.

Father, You tell me to keep on knocking, to keep on asking to be tenacious rather than to passively let the promises just sit there. There is something about me going over the promises You have given me Lord, and essentially saying to You over and over and over “You promised, You promised, You promised.” I think this is part of me standing in faith. But I also know, that I am strengthened and encouraged when I do this. Thank you Lord in Jesus Name Amen