The Cure for Damaged Souls

God’s promise of restoration

Photo by İbrahim Halil Ölmez: https://www.pexels.com/photo/emotional-portrait-of-woman-in-black-outfit-30031216/

“So I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten, The crawling locust, The consuming locust, And the chewing locust, My great army which I sent among you. You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, And praise the name of the Lord your God, Who has dealt wondrously with you”. (Joel 2:25, 26, NKJV)

Locusts

As I sat in church yesterday, these verses hit me because of recent events in my own life. It’s not because of any of the songs we sang or that the pastor mentioned them at all; he didn’t. I’m going through one of those seasons that’s been hard. Multiple blows have landed in quick succession. Do you know the feeling?

All of my recent bruises have come as a result of the actions of people. Most of them are from others that I love and trust. Perhaps more painful is the realization that I have hurt others. I’ve disappointed people I love. Yes, I have been a locust. I live in a world filled with locusts.

I’ve dedicated my life to trying to follow the Lord and live by His Word. Even on my best day, when I think I’m doing what I’m supposed to be doing, I sometimes get it wrong. I’ve made promises I can’t keep. I’ve made promises I didn’t keep. I had to choose who I was going to please and who I was going to disappoint.

You may need to decide between your son’s graduation and a business trip that would result in a promotion. Maybe your dog needs an operation, but you just don’t have the money.

We cry out to God during seasons like this because we know that He is good. We remind Him of all His promises, trusting that it will all turn out for good. But we never know how long a valley or a night may last. I’ve learned that some of them can last a lifetime and won’t be resolved until we get to the other side.

The message the pastor gave had my name on it. He said that anxiety is not proof of a lack of faith; it’s evidence that we are human. The prescription he laid out was to breathe, pray, and then worship. I’m doing my best to take the extra-strength version of that.

The source

One of the surprising things about our text is that it doesn’t name the devil as the author of Israel’s woes. God refers to the locusts as “My great army which I sent among you,” (Joel 2:25, NKJV).

In context, the disaster was sent from the Lord in response to Israel’s sin and intended to wake them up from their worldly stupor. But that’s not the only reason God allows, or even sends, calamity to come our way.

James Chapter 1 tells us that we experience trials of many kinds to produce patience and endurance. God puts us under discipline, much like a coach will drive the members of his team in practice so they can win once they get to the real game.

In that case, the trouble comes not because we’ve done anything wrong; it’s to make us stronger.

Yes, we have an adversary out to steal, kill, and destroy (John 10:10, NIV). But even he can only go as far as the Lord allows him to. If God allows it and we respond well to it, it will result in accomplishing good for us and for His Kingdom.

That is why, whenever we are struggling, we need to ask God for His help, not blame Him for our circumstances.

The key to the cure

Our goal is to suffer well, learn what we need to learn, and stay faithful to God. When we do those three things, the Lord will help us.

The key here is humility.

“God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” (James 4:6, NIV)

Don’t go all crybaby on Him. Trust in God’s goodness and His concern for you. You may not have deserved any of the bad things that have been coming at you lately. Even then, endure hardship like a good soldier and patiently wait for good to come out of your pain like a farmer waits for his crops to grow (2 Timothy 2:3–6, NIV).

You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, And praise the name of the Lord your God, Who has dealt wondrously with you”. (Joel 2:26, NKJV)