If it hadn’t fallen apart, we wouldn’t be where we are now.
Maybe fear would have kept us from moving towards God’s plan for our lives. Our complacency, comfort, pride, and a million other things. We always had prayed that He would lead us to the ministry calling He had given us a vision of over twenty years ago. Be prepared when you pray for something, to get the answer, but oh, how His ways are always best.
Last night, as I struggled for which direction to take for our future, I read a scripture from the Book of Joel. I had heard it before, the first part anyway, but it was the second part that grabbed me.
Joel 2:25 read, “I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten.”
Oh, how wonderful! Restoration!
Yet it also read, “my great army that I sent among you.”
Almost as an afterthought, ownership is taken of the locusts that brought ruin. In that moment of scripture I realized that sometimes the Lord brings you locusts. We know that God is for us, and that His plans are to bring us hope and a future. But maybe sometimes we miss the meaning behind the locusts that come our way. We only see ruin, and we lose sight of the new harvest that is coming. Just like how an unkempt fire can ravage a forest, a life not led totally for the Lord can be broken. Yet after the fire ends, the soil flourishes. New grass blooms, fresh trees spring up, and a lush landscape takes over the once barren waste. The grass is greener, the trees stronger, the foliage thicker. The fire consumes, but it leaves behind a new earth ready to produce even more than before.
So, if you find yourself in a season of locusts, don’t lose heart. Even as you are holding to faith that the Lord will work it out, remember that He also has a plan of restoration. I don’t believe the folks who say our Heavenly Father is hands off, uncaring of the paths we take here on earth! I believe life is more than chance. I believe God has a specific purpose for each of our lives, and sadly, we don’t always follow His plan. We’re too distracted by the world. So sometimes He has to send locusts to ruin your crop so He can grow something new. Especially if you’re praying for Him to reveal His will for your life!
If you find yourself in a season of hardship, don’t be discouraged. It could just be something you’re going through so the Lord can take you to something better. Your hard path may just be your path to true freedom and peace. Through the past two years, as I’ve walked my own (uncertain path), I have found new ground, fertile soil, where fear and anxiety can no longer grow! I had to walk through ruin to reach freedom. The Lord had to send me locusts before He could send me restoration. For both, I am grateful.
