Restore!

Once rubbish but now precious!

Joel 2:25”I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten, the hopper, the destroyer, and the cutter, my great army, which I sent among you.”

Don’t throw them away just yet…God can recycle binned stuff!

I happened to meditate about the locusts mentioned in the Bible recently and I just wondered how an insect that is just three inches long, weighting two grams can harm a nation! Oh, these fellows are not loners but they come swarming in numerous numbers; they ravish the green plants, fruits, vegetables and they can eat about two grams of food (equal to their total weight) on a single day. Ravenous insects I should say!

In the first chapter of the book of Joel in the Bible, we read how the great army of locusts was sent against the people because they disobeyed God. How could a Christian ever think that he would cheat, steal, lie, lust, and still feel he would not be punished? A three inch insect called Locust is enough to destroy our life when we do not have the covering of God’s Hands over our life! Caveat! Porn addiction starts with just a casual or accidental exposure to obscenity, you have a choice to flee or get glued to it! Recently in our city Hyderabad, teenaged girls as young as twelve and thirteen were found involved in pornography and it did not stop there, they had sent nude pics of themselves to strangers and were also involved in vulgar chatting with them, the strangers later used it to blackmail them. The police stated, ‘we were shocked to see such stuff from such young girls!’ Easy access to internet, lust and parent’s ignorance and carelessness are the reasons for such disasters! Yes, the locusts can eat away your life! Remember, they are just 3 inches long; yet, they can destroy you!

Despite me warning certain families regarding their lukewarm walk with God, since they had not taken a single step to rectify their lives, recently when I visited their homes, it was alarming to watch their utter decay! Debts, mental illness, sickness, demonic attacks, quarrels, divorces are some of the locusts that destroy lives! I found something else also, what was ‘startling’ for me was ‘normal’ for certain people, they have adjusted to live with sins, debts and devils! Are you listening? But for the few who would want to live a holy and successful life, the Lord gives a trumpet call today; He said: Joel 2:25 “I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten..” Isn’t it good news? I WILL RESTORE said the Lord! Give Him a shout of praise!

Today, the trumpet call for each one of you is to come back to God! The Lord also says, "Yet even now," declares the LORD, "return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning..” Do not live in the pit and rot, arise for a life of joy! God would recycle your past sinful life and turn it into something beautiful and useful! Don’t throw them away just yet…God can recycle binned stuff! Hurray!

I saw a new flower vase in my mom’s living room! When I asked about it, she said that those flowers were discarded, thrown away and they lay abandoned in the rain, snow and sun for two years; but she picked it up, cleaned them, dusted them, washed them and brought back its sheen and beauty and finally kept them in the middle of the living room. Isn’t that lovely! God would do the same for you! Have you seen wasted plastic, rubber and other throw-away items being turned into awesome products? Likewise, when you get into the Hands of Jesus, He would restore you! I just checked on the meaning of ‘restore’ and this is what I read:

“return to a former position/state”, this is what God would do for you! Cheer up!