Some counselors utilize a concept called “tough love”--a love that is strong enough to be tough when needed. Parents show tough love to a child when they refuse to give in to a temper tantrum. Tough love is strong enough to reprove one who needs correction, and it is willing to allow others to suffer the consequences of their foolish actions in the hope that they will learn from their experiences.

God often expresses tough love in the form of divine discipline. Jesus told the church of Laodicea, “Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent” (Rev. 3:19). This was also God’s message to His people through the prophet Joel.

We do not know when the book of Joel was written. The lack of any reference to Judah’s king has prompted some scholars to suggest that it was written during the time when Joash, the boy king, ruled Judah (835-739 B.C., see 2 Kings 11–12). Other scholars think that the book was written some time after the Babylonian exile. All that is known of the book’s author is that his name was Joel and that he was the son of Pethuel (v. 1).

TODAY ALONG THE WAY
Can you think of the events in your life that God has used to get your attention? Perhaps He has used the consequences of your own actions to help you see the folly of making sinful choices. Or He may have used circumstances that are beyond your control to show you your need for His power and grace. Such experiences are not for your benefit alone. Like the tough love experienced by those in Joel’s day, these lessons can benefit others. Ask some trusted friends to share some things God has used to get their attention and the lessons they learned as a result. Share your story and thank God together for His tough love.

Joel 1:3
Morning and Evening
C H Spurgeon

“Tell ye your children of it, and let your children tell their children, and their children another generation.” — Joel 1:3

In this simple way, by God’s grace, a living testimony for truth is always to be kept alive in the land—the beloved of the Lord are to hand down their witness for the gospel, and the covenant to their heirs, and these again to their next descendants. This is our first duty, we are to begin at the family hearth: he is a bad preacher who does not commence his ministry at home. The heathen are to be sought by all means, and the highways and hedges are to be searched, but home has a prior claim, and woe unto those who reverse the order of the Lord’s arrangements. To teach our children is a personal duty; we cannot delegate it to Sunday school teachers, or other friendly aids; these can assist us, but cannot deliver us from the sacred obligation; proxies and sponsors are wicked devices in this case: mothers and fathers must, like Abraham, command their households in the fear of God, and talk with their offspring concerning the wondrous works of the Most High. Parental teaching is a natural duty—who so fit to look to the child’s well-being as those who are the authors of his actual being? To neglect the instruction of our offspring is worse than brutish. Family religion is necessary for the nation, for the family itself, and for the church of God. By a thousand plots Popery is covertly advancing in our land, and one of the most effectual means for resisting its inroads is left almost neglected, namely, the instruction of children in the faith. Would that parents would awaken to a sense of the importance of this matter. It is a pleasant duty to talk of Jesus to our sons and daughters, and the more so because it has often proved to be an accepted work, for God has saved the children through the parents’ prayers and admonitions. May every house into which this volume shall come honour the Lord and receive his smile.

Joel 1:8-12
TODAY IN THE WORD

Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret. - 2 Corinthians 7:10

Dante Gabriel Rossetti, the British painter and poet, was so desolate when his wife committed suicide after only two years of marriage that he vowed to bury the poems he had written for her. He placed the book in the coffin, wrapped in the tresses of her long hair. But after a few years Rossetti regretted his decision. He believed that the poems were some of the best he had ever written. It seemed senseless to leave them buried. After a lengthy court battle Rossetti won the legal right to open the grave and recover the book.

Rossetti’s change of heart is similar to the way some people approach repentance. They may resolve to make changes or take action. But when the initial discomfort of their guilt dies down, they may have second thoughts and regret their decision. Others would prefer to avoid the discomfort of repentance altogether. They prefer a painless faith without the anguish of repentance. God, however, values repentance. One reason He allowed the people of Joel’s day to experience the devastation of the locust plagues was to bring them to a point of genuine grief over their sins (v. 8). The resulting cessation of grain and drink offerings served as a painful reminder of the way their sins had hindered their fellowship with God (cf. Num. 29:39). These were hard measures designed to shatter their complacency. God intended for His people to feel remorse for their sin. The Hebrew term that is translated “despair” in verse 11 might also be translated “be ashamed.” But this was not His only purpose. He did not merely hope that these experiences would make people feel badly about their sins. He also wanted them to “wail” or lament (v. 11). True repentance expresses sorrow for sin.

TODAY ALONG THE WAY
Can you think of a time when you felt sorrow for sin? How did you respond to the sense of guilt and shame that you experienced? Not all sorrow for sin is true repentance. Genuine repentance may be painful, but it will enable you to see your need for the forgiveness that only Christ can offer. It is not too late to express your repentance for sin and to ask for God’s help in making the necessary changes in your life. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).

Joel 1:13-15
TODAY IN THE WORD

Just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ. - Romans 5:21

When Arthur Andersen auditing firm was indicted for destroying documents related to a Federal investigation of one of its clients, some of the firm’s employees staged a public protest. One employee even wrote to the President of the United States, complaining that the indictment was unfair because of what it implied about the thousands of honest employees who worked for the company. “They are casting doubt on our honesty and our integrity,” he wrote. Some of the people of Joel’s day would identify with this complaint. They too may have wondered whether it was fair for many to suffer for the sins of a few.

The plague of locusts that had so devastated Israel’s crops carried an important lesson. Sin is not just an individual matter--it is a corporate one as well. The proper response was for God’s people to take responsibility for the sins of their nation and seek God’s forgiveness. Speaking through the prophet, the Lord called for Israel’s national and religious leaders to publicly express their grief for their sin in a “holy fast” and a “sacred assembly” (v. 14). The priests were instructed to take the lead and summon both the elders and the people to the sanctuary in order to fast and cry out to God for deliverance.

The Bible supports the idea of corporate guilt. Israel’s defeat at Ai is a good example (see Josh. 7). Only one man violated God’s command not to take any of the plunder from the defeat of Jericho, yet the Lord spoke in plural terms when He apportioned the blame (Josh. 7:1). Only one man had sinned, yet both the guilt and its consequences were shared.

TODAY ALONG THE WAY
Just as in Joel’s day, one way that God’s people can express their grief over sin is through fasting. Fasting does not remove guilt--only God’s grace could do that for them. But it is a way to express repentance. If your physical health permits, why not skip a meal and spend that time confessing sin to the Father? Pray for yourself, your church, and your nation--God is pleased by our recognition of our corporate responsibility and our heartfelt repentance. When you are finished, thank God for His grace and mercy.

Joel 1:14
F B Meyer
Our Daily Homily

Joel 1:14 Sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly, gather the elders, and cry unto the Lord. (r.v., marg.)

It was a terrible invasion. The locusts had lighted down upon the land of Israel; so that the seeds rotted under the clods; garners were desolate; the barns were broken down. Despair took hold of the husbandman; and the herds and flocks panted out their anguish. At this juncture the prophet called for a national fast.

Whenever our life is visited by special trials and perplexities, we should withdraw ourselves from common pursuits, and lay bare our heart-secrets, so that we may learn the cause of God’s controversy with us. There is a reason and a needs-be; because He does not afflict willingly, or grieve the children of men.

From time to time a call for prayer has issued from the hearts of men closest in touch with heaven. In the middle of the eighteenth century Jonathan Edwards issued such an appeal; and this led to that union of prayer, which played so significant a part in the origination of the great missionary societies. It was notably the effect of that appeal on Sutcliffe, Rylands, Fuller, and Carey, that led to the formation of the Baptist Missionary Society at the close of the eighteenth century.

It may be that a wave of prayer is again about to break over the Church. There are many signs of it. We hear Christian people saying on all hands that they want to get back to God; and surely it would be one of the most significant signs of the unity of the Church and the power of the Holy Spirit, if such a prayer wave were to lift us all on to a new level of intercession for the Church of God and the world around us. We need not wait for the Church to appoint.

Joel 1:16-20
TODAY IN THE WORD

God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. - Hebrews 12:10b

A mother was working in the kitchen when she heard the sound of whimpering on the back porch. When she opened the door, she saw her small son sitting on the steps nursing a bruised finger and crying. He and a friend had been loading rocks in a basket when one of the rocks had landed on his hand. “Why didn’t you tell me you were hurt?” his mother asked. The boy sheepishly replied that he had been afraid to come to her. “Afraid?” she said in amazement. “Why would you be afraid?” “I thought you might be angry,” the boy explained. The mother bandaged her son’s finger and as she hugged him she said, “You never have to be afraid to come to us when you are hurt.”

The consequences of Israel’s disobedience in Joel’s day had been painful for both man and beast. A combination of locusts and drought had destroyed the crops. Men and animals alike were suffering. What is more, the shortage of food had interrupted the cycle of temple sacrifices and festivals (v. 16). The pitiful lowing of hungry cattle and the bleating of starving sheep mirrored the anguished cries of God’s people (v. 18). As Joel watched wild fires consume land and crops, he added his voice to this chorus of suffering (v. 19). This was God’s intention. His design was that Israel’s suffering would make them aware of their own sin and would instill in them a longing for restoration. These sufferings prompted God’s creation to “pant” or long after God (v. 20). It could only be hoped that His people would be as wise as the animals they tended.

TODAY ALONG THE WAY
How have you responded to the difficult circumstances in your life? Would you say that they have drawn you closer to God, or are you in danger of being driven away from Him? Take time to examine the difficulties you face. How has God been using them to teach you more about His faithfulness and forgiveness? While not every problem you meet may be a case of divine discipline, you can have confidence that God is lovingly working through the events that come your way to produce righteousness and peace in your life.

Joel 2:1-11
TODAY IN THE WORD

Let all who live in the land tremble, for the day of the LORD is coming. It is close at hand. - Joel 2:1b

When a case is examined in a courtroom, not everyone arrives with the same agenda. The prosecutor hopes to make a case to convict the defendant. The accused, if innocent, looks for vindication. The defendant who is guilty may look for mercy. The judge, on the other hand, should be interested only in seeing that justice is done. Unfortunately, in human affairs this doesn’t describe every judge. The Persian ruler Cambyses II, the son of Cyrus the Great, discovered that a judge in his kingdom was notoriously corrupt. He had the man flayed alive and then ordered that his skin be used to cover the seat upon which his successors would render their decisions. Though not every unjust judge will receive rebuke here on earth--certainly not to the extent exercised by Cambyses II--they will answer to the justice of God.

The Old Testament phrase “Day of the Lord” refers to a time when God will judge the nations. God’s judgment is always just, and for this reason the prophet Joel warned that the Day of the Lord would be “a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and blackness” (v. 2). Just as the locust plague in Joel’s day blotted out the light of the sun, the future day of the Lord would be a day of disaster for sinners. Other prophets describe this as a time when men’s hearts will melt with fear and sinners will be judged (Isa. 13:6-9). In particular, they predict that it will be a time when the Gentile nations will be called to account (Ezek. 30:3; Obad. 1:15). The devastation and darkness of the locust plague of Joel’s day brought to mind cosmic disturbances that would accompany the coming Day of the Lord. They compelled the prophet to make this observation: “The day of the LORD is great; it is dreadful. Who can endure it?” The implied answer: “Nobody!”

TODAY ALONG THE WAY
If the Day of the Lord were to come today, how would you fare? Only those who have been declared righteous by faith in Christ will be able to endure that day.

Joel 2:8
Morning and Evening
C H Spurgeon

“Neither shall one thrust another; they shall walk every one in his path.” — Joel 2:8

Locusts always keep their rank, and although their number is legion, they do not crowd upon each other, so as to throw their columns into confusion. This remarkable fact in natural history shows how thoroughly the Lord has infused the spirit of order into his universe, since the smallest animate creatures are as much controlled by it as are the rolling spheres or the seraphic messengers. It would be wise for believers to be ruled by the same influence in all their spiritual life. In their Christian graces no one virtue should usurp the sphere of another, or eat out the vitals of the rest for its own support. Affection must not smother honesty, courage must not elbow weakness out of the field, modesty must not jostle energy, and patience must not slaughter resolution. So also with our duties, one must not interfere with another; public usefulness must not injure private piety; church work must not push family worship into a corner. It is ill to offer God one duty stained with the blood of another. Each thing is beautiful in its season, but not otherwise. It was to the Pharisee that Jesus said, “This ought ye to have done, and not to have left the other undone.” The same rule applies to our personal position, we must take care to know our place, take it, and keep to it. We must minister as the Spirit has given us ability, and not intrude upon our fellow servant’s domain. Our Lord Jesus taught us not to covet the high places, but to be willing to be the least among the brethren. Far from us be an envious, ambitious spirit, let us feel the force of the Master’s command, and do as he bids us, keeping rank with the rest of the host. To-night let us see whether we are keeping the unity of the Spirit in the bonds of peace, and let our prayer be that, in all the churches of the Lord Jesus, peace and order may prevail.

Joel 2:11
Morning and Evening
C H Spurgeon

“His camp is very great.” — Joel 2:11

Consider, my soul, the mightiness of the Lord who is thy glory and defence. He is a man of war, Jehovah is his name. All the forces of heaven are at his beck, legions wait at his door, cherubim and seraphim;, watchers and holy ones, principalities and powers, are all attentive to his will. If our eyes were not blinded by the ophthalmia of the flesh, we should see horses of fire and chariots of fire round about the Lord’s beloved. The powers of nature are all subject to the absolute control of the Creator: stormy wind and tempest, lightning and rain, and snow, and hail, and the soft dews and cheering sunshine, come and go at his decree. The bands of Orion he looseth, and bindeth the sweet influences of the Pleiades. Earth, sea, and air, and the places under the earth, are the barracks for Jehovah’s great armies; space is his camping ground, light is his banner, and flame is his sword. When he goeth forth to war, famine ravages the land, pestilence smites the nations, hurricane sweeps the sea, tornado shakes the mountains, and earthquake makes the solid world to tremble. As for animate creatures, they all own his dominion, and from the great fish which swallowed the prophet, down to “all manner of flies,” which plagued the field of Zoan, all are his servants, and like the palmer-worm, the caterpillar, and the cankerworm, are squadrons of his great army, for his camp is very great. My soul, see to it that thou be at peace with this mighty King, yea, more, be sure to enlist under his banner, for to war against him is madness, and to serve him is glory. Jesus, Immanuel, God with us, is ready to receive recruits for the army of the Lord: if I am not already enlisted let me go to him ere I sleep, and beg to be accepted through his merits; and if I be already, as I hope I am, a soldier of the cross, let me be of good courage; for the enemy is powerless compared with my Lord, whose camp is very great.

Joel 2:12-17
Our Daily Bread

So rend your heart, and not your garments (Joel 2:13).

The Baouli people of West Africa describe repentance this way:

"It hurts so much I want to quit it."

Genuine repentance hurts our pride and wounds our ego. But it's a necessary and healing hurt.

John Calvin said,

"Let everyone search himself and he will find that he labors under this evil—that he would rather rend his garment than his heart." Calvin was thinking of the time God brought His people Israel to repentance by sending a vast army of locusts to invade the land. The insects consumed all vegetation and stripped fruit trees and gardens bare. Man and animals languished under the effects of this widespread devastation. The prophet Joel seized the occasion to call Israel to repentance, to "rend your heart, and not your garments."

According to the record, they heeded his warning and turned from their sin (Joel 3:18-19).

Sometimes we find ourselves hemmed in by economic or domestic pressures. And sometimes accidents or natural tragedies disrupt our lives. Through these events we recognize our need for God. It's as if He is saying, "Examine your life and conduct. Are you walking with Me, obeying My commands, putting Me first?"

God pleads with us to "rend our heart" when we sin so He can relieve our pain and show Himself as a gracious God, ready to forgive, slow to anger, and full of mercy. —D. J. De Haan (Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved)

Repentance is sorrow for the deed, not for being caught.

Joel 2:12-17
TODAY IN THE WORD

Return to the LORD your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love. - Joel 2:13

A businessman whose unethical practices were widely known once told Mark Twain of the pilgrimage he hoped to make some day. “Before I die,” he said, “I will climb Mount Sinai and read the Ten Commandments aloud at the top.” Twain was not impressed. “I have a better idea” he retorted. “You could stay at home in Boston and keep them.”

Religious observances like fasting can have great value. But they were never meant to serve as a substitute for genuine repentance. In Joel’s day God’s people engaged in religious rituals like fasting and tearing their garments. The problem with these efforts was that they were not performed with a repentant heart (v. 12). As far as God was concerned, the outward form of such rituals was not nearly as important as the attitude of the heart. He challenged them saying, “Rend your hearts and not your garments” (v. 13). He also reminded them of the description of His compassion that He gave to Moses after Israel had sinned with the golden calf (Ex. 34:6–7). This description underscored the folly of their mechanical approach to worship.

True repentance is not a matter of perfunctory observance of certain rituals but is grounded in relationship. Those who turn to God in repentance do not base their appeal for forgiveness on their own performance but upon God’s character. In verse 13 the prophet gives them five reasons for “rending their hearts”: God’s grace, compassion, patience, love, and mercy. Based upon this, the prophet called upon the priests to declare a sacred assembly in the hope that sincere repentance would result in restoration. This was to be a universal expression of grief over sin. Although public and formal, it was also to be sincere (v. 12).

TODAY ALONG THE WAY
We are to approach God with the confidence that He sees what is done in secret and knows all that we truly need. As you approach God in prayer today, ask yourself whether you are merely going through the motions. Has your devotional life become too mechanical? Perhaps it is time to make a change. Take a walk and use what you see as a basis for prayer. Find a hymn and let its words guide your devotional time. Whatever you choose to do, be sure that you engage your heart first.

Joel 2:13
Morning and Evening
C H Spurgeon

“Rend your heart, and not your garments.” — Joel 2:13

Garment-rending and other outward signs of religious emotion, are easily manifested and are frequently hypocritical; but to feel true repentance is far more difficult, and consequently far less common. Men will attend to the most multiplied and minute ceremonial regulations—for such things are pleasing to the flesh—but true religion is too humbling, too heart-searching, too thorough for the tastes of the carnal men; they prefer something more ostentatious, flimsy, and worldly. Outward observances are temporarily comfortable; eye and ear are pleased; self-conceit is fed, and self-righteousness is puffed up: but they are ultimately delusive, for in the article of death, and at the day of judgment, the soul needs something more substantial than ceremonies and rituals to lean upon. Apart from vital godliness all religion is utterly vain; offered without a sincere heart, every form of worship is a solemn sham and an impudent mockery of the majesty of heaven.

Heart-rending is divinely wrought and solemnly felt. It is a secret grief which is personally experienced, not in mere form, but as a deep, soul-moving work of the Holy Spirit upon the inmost heart of each believer. It is not a matter to be merely talked of and believed in, but keenly and sensitively felt in every living child of the living God. It is powerfully humiliating, and completely sin-purging; but then it is sweetly preparative for those gracious consolations which proud unhumbled spirits are unable to receive; and it is distinctly discriminating, for it belongs to the elect of God, and to them alone.

The text commands us to rend our hearts, but they are naturally hard as marble: how, then, can this be done? We must take them to Calvary: a dying Saviour’s voice rent the rocks once, and it is as powerful now. O blessed Spirit, let us hear the death-cries of Jesus, and our hearts shall be rent even as men rend their vestures in the day of lamentation.

Joel 2:13
September 27, 2003
Happy New Year!
READ: Joel 2:12-17

Rend your heart, and not your garments; return to the Lord your God, for He is gracious and merciful. —Joel 2:13

Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, is regarded as the anniversary of the day that God created the world. The celebration begins with a blast of the shofar (ram's horn) to announce that the God who created the world is still the One ruling it. The blowing of the horn also begins a 10-day period of self-examination and repentance leading to Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 23:23-32; Numbers 29:1-6).

The prophet Joel urged people not to just go through the motions of repentance, but to turn from their sins and obey God (Joel 2:13). In his day, tearing garments was a sign of sorrow for sin. It made a good show, but it didn't impress God. He was more concerned with their hearts.

Especially interesting is the basis for Joel's appeal. It wasn't only to avoid God's wrath, but also to enjoy God's grace, compassion, and love. Sometimes we think of God as being heavy-handed with punishment and tight-fisted with mercy. The words of Joel remind us that the opposite is true. The Lord is slow to punish and eager to forgive.

There's no better way to celebrate God's creation than to let Him re-create your heart through faith in Jesus the Messiah and turn your desires toward Him. —Julie Ackerman Link (Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved)

When I tried to cover my sin,
My guilt I could not shake;
But when I sought Your mercy, Lord,
My sin I did forsake. —Hess

Confession is the key that opens the door to forgiveness.
 

Joel 2:14
August 23, 2006
God Fights Against Us
READ: Joel 2:12-17

Who knows if He will turn and relent, and leave a blessing behind Him? —Joel 2:14

In Joel’s book of prophecy, God declared: “I am in the midst of Israel . . . . My people shall never be put to shame” (2:27). But earlier in the chapter God promised to fight against His people. A plague of locusts would descend like a ravenous army on the nation (vv.2-11).

It’s hard to fathom that the Lord would fight against His chosen people. But Israel had given their affections to other gods.

In fact, God had fought against them before. “Wherever they went out, the hand of the Lord was against them for calamity” (Judges 2:15).

I have learned that if my own heart wanders away from God, I can count on Him to fight to bring me back. If I become proud and self-assured, if reading God’s Word and spending time in prayer seem like a waste of time, God will step in and deal with me.

God will fight against us for our good. He permits us to experience defeat so that we will listen to Him when He says, “Rend your heart, and not your garments; return to the Lord your God, for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness” (Joel 2:13).

Don’t wait for God to fight against you before you seek His face. Return to Him today. —Albert Lee (Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved)

Because our Father’s heart is grieved
Each time we go astray,
He lifts His chastening hand in love
To help us find His way. —D. De Haan

God’s hand of discipline is a hand of love

Joel 2:18-27
TODAY IN THE WORD

Never again will my people be shamed. - Joel 2:26b

In the magazine Today’s Christian Woman, Linore Burkhard wrote of the time she went for a walk with her two-year-old daughter. Suddenly the toddler let go of her mother’s hand and began to run ahead, with her frantic mother chasing close behind. The little girl was just about to step into a busy street when she lost her balance and fell. As Burkhard stooped to pick her up, she shuddered to think about what might have happened. She recognized a surprising blessing and a valuable spiritual lesson in her daughter’s bruises that she now attempted to soothe. “What we don’t see while we’re feeling pain is God’s hidden purpose” Burkhard explained. “Sometimes, the very incident we see as hurtful is God’s way of protecting us from worse harm.”

As we have seen, the devastation of the locust plague was intended to move God’s people to genuine repentance. The wonderful promise was that God would respond with zeal for the devastated land and pity for His afflicted people, both objects of God’s jealousy and covenant promises (v. 18). This may seem surprising. The Bible often condemns jealousy in human relationships (Rom. 13:13; 1 Cor. 3:3; 2 Cor. 12:20). Yet our God is a jealous God (Ex. 34:14; 1 Cor. 10:22). One of the chief differences between divine and human jealousy is that human jealousy is self-centered. God’s jealousy is directed toward the best interests of His people. Some have suggested that it might be easier to understand God’s jealousy as zeal for those He loves. God does not want His people to have anything other than Himself as the object of their worship. He alone is God!

God’s ultimate desire was not to punish His people but to restore them. He promised to send new wine, grain, and oil, He promised never to make them an object of scorn among the nations. In addition, He promised to drive the “army”

TODAY ALONG THE WAY
God may not shield us from the results of our sinful actions, but He will forgive and accept as His children all those who come to Him by faith in Christ.

Joel 2:25
F B Meyer
Our Daily Homily

Joel 2:25 I will restore to you the peace that the locusts hath eaten.

How many years of our life have been consumed by the locust! Self in one form or another has sorely robbed us of our golden sheaves, reducing them to dust. Self-indulgence, frivolity, wanton spend-thriftiness of time, and talent, and opportunity, sloth and lethargy, mixed and evil motives, secret sins—what a crew are there! They have played the part of the caterpillar, the cankerworm, and the palmerworm with the green promise and the yellow produce of our lives.

But God waits to forgive; to put away from his mind the memory of the wasted past; to place the crown of a new hope upon our brow—yea, more, to restore to us the years that the locust hath eaten. There shall be a revenue of glory to Him even from those wasted years. Either in the experience they shall have communicated to us for dealing with other men, or in the penitential and broken-hearted temper they shall have begotten in ourselves; those years shall yet yield crops of praise to God, and of fruitfulness to us. And, also, God is prepared so to add his blessing to us, in the present and future, as to give us in each year not only the years produce, but much more, so that each year will be laden and weighted with the blessing of three or four beside. Where sin abounded, grace shall much more abound. Where we have sown, we shall reap; not thirty-fold only, but a hundred-fold. God is so anxious to give us as large a result as possible to show for our life’s work, though we may have sadly wrecked its earlier portions. Did He not restore to Peter at Pentecost what he wasted in the hall of judgment? Did not Paul win harvests for Christ out of the years which preceded his conversion?

Joel 2:25
Losses Overcome
Faith's Checkbook
C H Spurgeon

“&And l will restore to you the years that the locusthath eaten.&”—&Joel 2:25&

YES, those wasted years over which we sigh shall be restored to us. God can give us such plentiful grace that we shall crowd into the remainder of our days as much of service as will be some recompense for those years of unregeneracy over which we mourn in humble penitence.

The locusts of backsliding, worldliness, and lukewarmness are now viewed by us as a terrible plague. Oh that they had never come near us! The Lord in mercy has now taken them away, and we are full of zeal to serve Him. Blessed be His name, we can raise such harvests of spiritual graces as shall make our former barrenness to disappear. Through rich grace we can turn to account our bitter experience and use it to warn others. We can become the more rooted in humility, childlike dependence, and penitent spirituality by reason of our former shortcomings. If we are the more watchful, zealous, and tender, we shall gain by our lamentable losses. The wasted years, by a miracle of love, can be restored. Does it seem too great a boon? Let us believe for and live for it; and we may yet realize it, even as Peter became all the more useful a man after his presumption was cured by his discovered weakness. Lord, aid us by thy grace.

Joel 2:25
January 1, 2004
Restoring The Years
READ: Joel 2:12-27

I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten. — Joel 2:25

How many years have you lost to the locust? Have