By: Kim Kelting, Legacy Ministry Leader
There have been seasons where I looked back and thought, what do I have to show for that time? Maybe you’ve felt that too, when a season of life didn’t turn out how you hoped — the job that fell through, the relationship that didn’t last, the dream that never took off. It can feel like those years are gone for good, like they were somehow “eaten away.” It can be self-inflicted, walking down a path God never intended for you to walk, or circumstantial, trying to survive with the cards you were dealt in life.
In the book of Joel, God’s people knew that kind of loss on a massive scale. A devastating swarm of locusts had stripped the land bare, destroying their crops, vineyards, and even the grain and wine needed for worship. It wasn’t just an agricultural disaster; it was a spiritual one. Their rebellion had led to this judgment, and with their offerings gone, even their ability to worship was interrupted. Yet in the middle of that devastation, when they turned their hearts back to God, He made a promise that still speaks to us today:
“I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten.” Joel 2:25, NIV
What I love about this verse is that God doesn’t only promise to replace what was lost. He promises to redeem it. He restores not just the harvest but the years that were taken. That is the kind of restoration only God can bring.
Modern-day “locusts” may look different, but they can still leave our lives stripped and empty. Maybe it’s illness, loss, anxiety, addiction, or a broken relationship. These things can rob us of joy, peace, and sometimes even our ability to worship. But Joel reminds us that when we turn our hearts back to God, He is faithful to restore. He specializes in bringing new life out of what feels barren.
I think about the times in my life when I’ve felt spiritually dry, when I was surviving more than growing. Looking back, I can see that even then, God was working beneath the surface. What felt wasted wasn’t wasted at all. He was preparing me, refining me, and restoring me in ways I couldn’t yet see.
God’s promise to repay the years the locusts have eaten isn’t just about recovering what’s gone. It’s about transformation, about the kind of renewal that happens when we walk with Him through loss and come out the other side with deeper faith.
Whatever the locusts have eaten in your life, whether it’s time, peace, relationships, or opportunities, trust that God has not forgotten. He is still the God who restores, and He is more than able to redeem every season that feels lost.
What is God trying to restore in your life today? Take some time alone with him—let him start that restoration process. You’ll be amazed at what he can do when we allow him in!