Joel 1:2-4 (NKJV) 2 Hear this, you elders, And give ear, all you inhabitants of the land! Has anything like this happened in your days, Or even in the days of your fathers? 3 Tell your children about it, Let your children tell their children, And their children another generation. 4 What the chewing locust left, the swarming locust has eaten; What the swarming locust left, the crawling locust has eaten; And what the crawling locust left, the consuming locust has eaten.
Joel 2:25-26 (NKJV) 25 “So I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten, The crawling locust, The consuming locust, And the chewing locust, My great army which I sent among you. 26 You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, And praise the name of the LORD your God, Who has dealt wondrously with you; And My people shall never be put to shame.
I sat in my home this morning instead of being at church and listened to my daughter and another young man in the church sing some beautiful songs of encouragement and inspiration and then listened to my son preach a word about God’s relentless pursuit of us. I thank God for the technology that allowed our church to come together even when we were not allowed by the Government to do so physically.
That said, I cannot help but be saddened that this has happened in The United States. I understand why the powers that be consider these measures necessary. However, I find it interesting that a virus could cause Americans to accept the suspension of constitutional rights so readily with absolutely no question whatsoever. (See the 1st amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America.)
Yesterday I went out to the store for some things. It so saddened me to see shelves empty of food and necessities. It reminded me of pictures from the old Soviet Union and Russia just after the fall of communism. So many shelves were empty and many of those that were not had very little left. I have never seen anything like this in the U.S. in my 66 years.
As we watch the news, something I try not to do too much as it does not exactly stir up my faith, we hear of lost jobs, potential lost businesses and general gloom over what the economy will look like when this is over. There is talk of government financial help coming to all Americans. This is both a testament to the generosity of our people and its government and also another frightening precedent that goes against what the founding of our nation stood for.
I am not saying the government should not do it, I am just concerned for what this might mean in terms of the loss of liberty and individual resourcefulness in the face of adversity. As soon as we accept that the government and not God and our own faith and effort are what we look to for sustaining, we have lost something. Time will tell what the long-term financial effects and damage to our liberty will be.
Many have lost health. Thankfully a very few, compared to what might have happened, have even lost their lives. No matter how few, it is too many. I have heard questions about the long term effects of this disease. No one really knows if there could be any, and it there are what they might be.
I am sure this is true around the world, but it seems so glaring to me because of where I grew up, but to a great degree we have lost our sense of security and confidence. For some there may be a loss of faith. For others this will be a door that will open hearts that were not seeking before. If we are honest, we have to admit that, so far, this disease has really not been all that devastating. The response has been, but not the disease. There are much worse things in the world that could happen to us at any time. How would we respond to them? I hope we never find out.
There are many more things we could point to that have been lost. Much of it in the space of 1 week at least here in the United States. I just wanted to point out a few things because we are all feeling them to one degree or another. When God speaks to me about what he wants to do during the year, as he does every year, most of the time I have a preconceived idea of what he means. Many times, I do not fully understand what he means. That is certainly been the case this year.
As I have said, I believe 2020 is to be a year of restoration. Joel chapter 2, especially verses 23-27, are the verses the Lord led me too as the year began. I still believe God wants to return many things that have been lost or stolen from us corporately and individually. I believe God wants to fix what has been broken in us as well as in the church and in the world. I believe God wants to return to power the King of King and the Lord of Lords who, in Matthew 28, declared that all power was given to him in heaven and in earth. All these things are part of the definition of restoration. I did not expect the “locusts” from chapter 1 to come first, but they did.
Locusts are, in many ways, a disease or pestilence that, when they come, eat up everything they can. In Joel, the picture is of absolute desolation as when they came upon Israel. Thankfully, I do not believe things are as bad as they seem or as the news media paints them. Nevertheless, they are bad. What I want to share with you today is not a teaching but a prophetic word to you, the church and our country. God Will Restore!
What have you lost in the past week or months due to this disease and the battle fought against it? Have you lost a loved one? I am not saying they are going to be raised from the dead, but God can work a restoration in your emotions and fix what may have been broken by the loss. Have you been affected in your body by this thing? God will restore!
Have you lost financial security, a job or a business? God will restore! Are your financial reserves and savings been diminished or threatened? Mine have. God will Restore!
Have you lost hope for the future? Has your faith been challenged or are you afraid either for the future or the present? God will restore faith, hope and confidence. He is right here with us and he is far greater than any virus or calamity that it can cause.
My son, Pastor Josh Kiefer of Living Word Church in Greene, NY shared a powerful word about Peter walking on water. He made a good point. I believe that Jesus was encouraging Peter not to stop believing. Peter walked on water as long as his focus was on Jesus. He sank when he took his focus off of Jesus. My son’s point was this. How could he doubt that Jesus would be there even in the midst of a storm? He would not bring him part way and leave him when he faltered.
We are in a storm. It is not locusts in varying form that have caused this storm. It is something far smaller but with effects that have been very devastating. We have walked by faith to this point and Jesus is not going to leave us now.
God will restore! What will he restore? Whatever corona virus has taken; whatever Covid has taken. Before it is over, we will see God do great things. Count on it. I am! Let me close with one more scripture. This thing is a thief. Proverbs tells us what a thief must do.
Proverbs 6:30-31 (NKJV) 30 People do not despise a thief If he steals to satisfy himself when he is starving. 31 Yet when he is found, he must restore sevenfold; He may have to give up all the substance of his house.
Under our covenant, I do not really believe that it is the thief that will restore to us 7-fold or 7 times. God Will Restore!
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