25And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the cankerworm, and the caterpiller, and the palmerworm, my great army which I sent among you.
26And ye shall eat in plenty, and be satisfied, and praise the name of the LORD your God, that hath dealt wondrously with you: and my people shall never be ashamed (Joel 2:25-26).
The Bible is very explicit concerning the fact that one’s life or years may or may not be well spent. Years are actually being wasted one way or the other. For this reason Moses made a passionate plea to God in Psalm 90:12, “So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom”
Counting years or age on earth without actually numbering (taking account of) our days is tantamount to foolishness. Wisdom is found in us when we number our days. What then does it mean to number our days? How can we do this? To what extent can we do this? We are trusting the Holy Spirit to help us solve the problem. But first of all, we need to know how years of one’s life are being wasted. So many of us who claim to be children of God are already victims of this worrisome scourge of wasted years. Years roll upon years, days are multiplied and time waits for no man. May we hear the clear voice of the Holy Ghost as we read. Amen.
25And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten…….
Here is an awesome admission from God, the omnipotent Almighty. It is a promise from the heart of a loving Father who cares for all His children. You see, from this statement we can see God unfolding to us some startling reality:
Years have been probably eaten up or devoured by certain forces of this present life but God promises to RESTORE TO YOU those lost years. Hallelujah! We have a sure hope in GOD that all may not be totally lost. Besides, with God all things are possible.
We only need to take our time to think and discover what the lost years are. Could these be the lost years in your life?
*YEARS WITHOUT GOD- No matter how long it is, all years spent without a sure relationship with the Lord Jesus are wasted years. This is simply because, if death were to have come, eternal doom of the soul would have been inevitable. Simply put, there is no true joy or fulfillment in the life of an unbeliever or a backslider. God’s presence in one’s life makes a whole world of difference. This difference is fundamental and cannot be equaled with any other attainment in life.
12That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world ( Ephesians 2:12).
*YEARS OF LAWLESSNESS- These are years of perverted life. Days of unending atrocities and incompatibility with God’s rule and direction in life. It is always agonizing to remember how much we lost in the wilderness of lawlessness. Most often, lack of godly leadership contributes immensely to this. Even in the modern Church today, individuals who have never been disciples of Christ, even untutored souls are always vulnerable to shameful scandals in society. The situation is more worsened when such individuals find themselves in positions of leadership. Unfortunately most church-goers are no more reading their Bibles; they are just following their corrupt leaders blindly. The resultant tragedy is always monumental. One great lack in the Church today is dependable and lasting leaders. May God have mercy on our generation by giving us true and exemplary leaders.
25In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes (Judges 21:25).
*YEARS WITHOUT A DEFINITE DIRECTION- God is not pleased with a life without divine guidance or direction. It is like gambling in the dark. The danger of such a lifestyle is more than meets the eye. God’s will is clearly revealed to us:
8I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye (Psalm 32:8)
*YEARS OF BACKSLIDING, DISTRACTION AND DETRACTION FROM THE RIGHT PATH- There have been seasons of broken focus; the temptation to abandon what God ordains for our life is always high. At times we feel as if let down by God; it seems better to do something else because no immediate reward is in sight. At some other times, trials of faith seem so hard. We have been instructed by God to endure hardship as soldiers of Christ-this presupposes that hardship is very possible (2 Timothy 2:3). No matter what we seem to have gained in the seasons of disobedience to God all vanity, yea a loss (Philippians 3:7,8). Do not continue to stay in the dark, Christ has brought you light.
*YEARS OF CARRYING THE REPROACH OF EGYPT- For a long time, after having left Egypt, so many of the sons of Israel were still carrying the reproach of Egyptian slavery: they were no more physically in Egypt but their spiritual status was very much imperfect, defective, and incompatible with their professed identity with God. Alas! This fatal error was not rectified for years.
2At that time the LORD said unto Joshua, Make thee sharp knives, and circumcise again the children of Israel the second time.
3And Joshua made him sharp knives, and circumcised the children of Israel at the hill of the foreskins.
4And this is the cause why Joshua did circumcise: All the people that came out of Egypt, that were males, even all the men of war, died in the wilderness by the way, after they came out of Egypt.
5Now all the people that came out were circumcised: but all the people that were born in the wilderness by the way as they came forth out of Egypt, them they had not circumcised.
6For the children of Israel walked forty years in the wilderness, till all the people that were men of war, which came out of Egypt, were consumed, because they obeyed not the voice of the LORD: unto whom the LORD sware that he would not shew them the land, which the LORD sware unto their fathers that he would give us, a land that floweth with milk and honey.
7And their children, whom he raised up in their stead, them Joshua circumcised: for they were uncircumcised, because they had not circumcised them by the way.
8And it came to pass, when they had done circumcising all the people, that they abode in their places in the camp, till they were whole.
9And the LORD said unto Joshua, This day have I rolled away the reproach of Egypt from off you. Wherefore the name of the place is called Gilgal unto this day (Joshua 5:2-9 ).
Today many of God’s children are suffering as slaves in bondage. The forces of satanic wickedness are still oppressing them. Why should you be living as if you have no Defender? You have an everlasting Defender who cannot let you down! Why not take refuge in Him now? He will roll away every reproach of Egypt in your entire life. But the foreskin (excesses) of your heart must be circumcised before Him. Are you willing to let Him?
*DEVOURED YEARS- Years of gloom and doom. Days of hopeless labour in the wrong way, at the wrong time, for the wrong purpose. When we are not walking in the light, we are simply achieving nothing while the time lasts!
For instance, the years of Judah spent in idolatry and other vices, coupled with the attendant judgment from God were years wasted by the locust, the canker-worm, the caterpillar and the palmer-worm - surprisingly, the Lord refers to these as His great army He actually sent to teach His people some sense!
25And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the canker-worm, and the caterpiller, and the palmerworm, my great army which I sent among you (Joel 2:25).
The above assertion shows that God does actually bring troubles upon His people as a way of calling for their attention; so that they will not be wasted in the land. This itself is an act of God's love.
BE ENCOURAGED!
Do not count your seemingly lost years as a total waste. There is sure hope for you. If peradventure the Lord is simply calling your attention to Himself, do not miss His intention! When you think He is angry or implacable, He is simply waiting to receive and bless your dear soul. Do not be overwhelmed by the pains of lost years. Do not forget the great and precious promise of God to you and to me:
25And I will restore to you the years….
It’s time for you to bounce back to divine reckoning. Stir up the gifts of God in you and stay relevant in God’s program. We love you so much. Shalom.
IN HIS HOUSE,
REV. OLUFUNSO J. OMIDIRAN
LIVING SWORD MINISTRIES INT'L
(Healing unto the Nations)
E-mail: info@livingsword.org
LIVING SWORD MINISTRIES INT'L
(Healing unto the Nations)
E-mail: info@livingsword.org
Web: www.livingsword.org
Tel: +2348032206092; +2348074920330; +447530963151
JESUS CHRIST IS LORD!
No comments:
Post a Comment