Do You Have Any Monster Locusts in Your Life?
As a kid my friends and I nearly lived our lives around the Friday Night Creature Feature—A la “Fright Night”, which was a campy TV show that featured an old “monster movie”. One of the earliest ones that I can recall was about a scientist who, using radiation, learned how to grow gigantic vegetables. Unfortunately a swarm of locusts just happened to invade and upon consuming the giant radiated vegetables transformed into super sized locusts that attacked and wreaked havoc on Chicago. The movie was titled ‘Beginning of the End’. It’s considered one of the more poorly written and acted movies ever, but as a 6 year old I was very concerned that this could actually happen. Spiritually speaking, in some ways it does.
In our weekly church newsletter, I’ve been providing an overview of each book of the Bible and this week’s is on Joel (btw, you can sign up for our e-newsletter at the bottom of this page).
Joel warned the people of Judah about God’s coming judgment—a locust plague had already destroyed both wine (Joel 1:5,7,12) and grain (Joel 1:10) thus threatening their ability to present offerings in the temple (Joel 1:9, 13, 16). However, He also spoke of a restoration that was available through repentance and that there would be an outpouring of the Holy Spirit to usher in the “Last Days” (cf. Acts 2:1-5). One of the surprising themes, however, is that God is able restore to you the years that the locust consumed (Joel 2:25).
Do you have any giant locusts? Have you ever thought, “I have wasted so many years not living for the Lord! I could have saved myself from so much unnecessary pain and suffering. I can never make up for all those wasted years.”?
You can’t, but God can! God can, and will restore all your wasted years! He’s ready whenever we are. True, the memories may haunt you, but God is still able to restore the “wasted years”. Because of His great love, mercy, and grace, your past is a dead issue.
As far as condemnation and guilt are concerned, remember that the enemy seeks to remind you of your past because he’s concerned about your future. God still has a future for you. God is ready whenever you are.
