Prophetic Word: The Lord Is Restoring the Years the Locusts Have Eaten
“I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten, the great locust and the young locust, the other locusts and the locust swarm, my great army that I sent among you”
-Joel 2:25
Dear Kingdom Family,
About a month ago, the Lord stirred my heart to return to Him with wholeheartedness. I was consumed with distractions and assignments, many of them good things. However, little by little, I was pulled away from my intimate relationship with Christ amid the busyness of the world.
Like Mary, I had this strong desire to sit at His feet again and just hear what Jesus had to say. Somewhere along the way, I had become more like Martha than I realized and got really distracted. When the Lord helped me recognize this, I did not come back to Him as someone who had everything figured out. I came as His child, hungry to be near my Father again.
Then I returned to the words of Jesus in Luke 11:13: “How much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”
The Holy Spirit is not divided into portions, but we can receive a fresh infilling of Him each day. Once I asked for more of Him, everything began to change. I stopped watching the news, got off social media and surrounded myself with as much purity as possible. I spent a lot of time in nature and took long prayer walks with Jesus.
The Holy Spirit met me in all of this, and soon the Word of God came alive in a whole new way! I started having vivid dreams again and could perceive His voice with greater clarity. I’m sharing my story because I believe Jesus is calling many of you back into His arms again and it will require great discipline and intentionality.
As I continued walking through this process of sanctification, God began placing new words on my heart to share with you. I want you to remember that Jesus calls you His friend, and He is so very proud of your endurance. He knows all that you have overcome in this past season, and He has been there every single moment.
As human beings, we naturally want to understand why. Why did this happen? Why is this crushing my spirit so much? Why is the Lord allowing this to continue? Why is this taking so long? Why did God choose this life for me?
However, the more we surrender and release our need to understand why, the more the Holy Spirit begins giving us new direction, dreams and desires. I have learned that sometimes in this lifetime, we do not receive the answers we want. We have to reach the point where we trust the heart of God even when we do not understand His ways.
Part of that surrender is praying for our enemies. Doing so frees us from bitterness and malice and keeps our hearts tender before the Lord. He is a very good Father, and even when we cannot see the entire story, we can trust that He truly has good plans for us.
My dear friend, please do not give up now. Keep moving forward with all you have, knowing that you serve a God who truly loves you. Be confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Jesus Christ (Phil. 1:6).
Get Ready for New Shoots of Restoration:
Watch for These 3 Signs 🌱
When God spoke through the prophet Joel, His people had experienced tremendous devastation. Swarms of locusts had consumed the land, destroying the crops and leaving the people without the harvest they had expected.
What should have been fruitful years of their life had become years of loss.
Yet before God promised restoration, He called His people back to Himself: “Return to me with all your heart” (Joel 2:12). He was not merely interested in restoring their crops. God wanted to restore their hearts, their worship and their awareness of His presence. When the people returned to Him, the Lord responded with compassion. He promised to send rain again, fill the threshing floors with grain and cause the vats to overflow with new wine and oil.
Then came this extraordinary promise: “I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten.”
The Hebrew word translated as “repay” or “restore” is shalam. It carries the idea of making good what was lost or bringing something back into wholeness. The people’s losses were very real. Their fields had been stripped, their crops had been consumed and entire harvests had disappeared. When God promised to restore the years, He was not promising to turn back the calendar. He was declaring that the years of loss would no longer determine what came next. He would make good what had been consumed by restoring fruitfulness to their land.
Here is what I think the Holy Spirit wants you to remember. Some of you have experienced very real devastation. You have lost people you deeply love, identities you once carried, livelihoods you depended on and years you thought would look very different. God will not take you backward and recreate your former life. Instead, He can bring such healing, purpose and fruitfulness into what comes next that the barren years no longer have the final word over your life.
Here are three ways I believe this restoration may begin to take shape in your life very soon:
1). You will begin to see new fruit in places where loss once dominated the story.
Some areas of your life have appeared barren for so long that you stopped expecting anything to grow there. I believe the Lord is renewing hope and causing new life to emerge.
This may appear through new opportunities, restored creativity, unexpected provision, healthier relationships or a renewed sense of purpose. Some of you might just wake up and feel different, as if the world has turned colorful again. Do not dismiss the small beginnings. The first green shoot may be evidence that the ground is becoming fruitful again.
2. The wisdom you gained during the painful years will become part of your restoration.
God does not waste what you endured. The discernment, compassion, endurance and spiritual authority developed in hidden seasons can become fruit that nourishes others. What once felt like a detour may become part of your testimony and assignment. The restoration may not only be found in what God gives back to you, but also in what He now releases through you because of what you have survived.
In my career, I help people write books. I often tell them, “Write to the person who is living through what you have already survived. Give them the words you needed to hear.” What you have experienced is fuel to empower the next person. Our sweet Jesus does not waste anything. What the enemy meant for evil, God really will use for good, even for the saving of many lives (Genesis 50:20).
3. Some long-delayed things will begin moving with unusual acceleration.
In Joel 2, the scene changes from empty fields to abundant rain, full threshing floors and overflowing vats. I believe some of you will begin seeing movement in areas that seemed stalled for years. Opportunities may appear, instructions may become clearer and doors may open sooner than you expected. This is not an invitation to strive, rush or force anything. It is a call to remain attentive and obedient so you are prepared to steward what God brings. I believe that actual rain will be your signal; pay attention to what happens in your physical surroundings.
Here is what is important to remember -- God wanted to restore their awareness of Him, not merely refill their barns. He had never abandoned them, and He does not abandon us. We truly serve a God of restoration, and often that restoration comes through restored dreams, relationships, hope, joy and the ability to recognize His presence again.
Jesus is still writing your story, and the locusts do not get the final word. Change is here! 🕊️
Joel 2:23–28
23 “Be glad then, you children of Zion,
and rejoice in the LORD, your God;
for he has given you the autumn rains
because he is faithful. He sends you abundant showers, both autumn and spring rains, as before.24 The threshing floors will be full of wheat, and the vats will overflow with new wine and oil.
25 I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten, the great locust, the grasshopper, and the caterpillar, my great army, which I sent among you.
26 You will have plenty to eat and be satisfied, and will praise the name of the LORD, your God, who has dealt wondrously with you; and my people will never again be disappointed.
27 You will know that I am among Israel, and that I am the LORD, your God, and there is no one else; and my people will never again be disappointed.
28 It will happen afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; and your sons and your daughters will prophesy. Your old men will dream dreams. Your young men will see visions.
29 Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days.”
