Joel 2:25-27; Psalm 126:1-6
We thank and praise God for the testimonies of Divine Performance. They are a testament to the Divine Presence with us, and the accompanying Promised Rest and Divine Provision.
We are praying and trusting God for His Divine Restoration in the New Year.
To enjoy Divine Restoration, you need to reckon the cause of the devastation and the ruins and be ready to return to the Restorer. It is then and only then can you reap the rain of Divine Restoration.
“And I will make them and the places round about my hill a blessing…”(Ezekiel 34:26a).
P1. Reckon the Devastation and the Ruins
Joel 1:1-12,16-18; Amos 4:6-13; Deut. 32:15-24
God punishes His erring people:
- God is our Divine Benefactor who has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness
- God gives His people all things richly to enjoy
- When God’s people disobey Him, He withdraws His abundance and chastises their abominations (Deut.11:13-18)
- The Lord sent the locust (swarming), the cankerworm (crawling locust), caterpillar (consuming locust) and the palmerworm (chewing locust) upon His own people
“Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works… ” (Rev. 2:5a).
P2. Return to the Divine Restorer
Joel 1:13-14,19-20; 2:12-18; Hosea 6:1-3; 14:1-8; Jeremiah 3:23-25
It is not enough to reckon the ruins, return to the Lord:
- Returning to God in repentance precedes divine restoration
- God does not bless His people while they remain in rebellion
“You cannot have back your time…but there is a strange and wonderful way in which God can give back to you the wasted blessings, the unripened fruits of years over which you mourned.…It is a pity that they should have been locust-eaten by your folly and negligence; but if they have been so, be not hopeless concerning them.”– Spurgeon
“…Return unto me, and I will return unto you, saith the Lord of hosts….” (Malachi 3:7b).
P3. Reap Divine Restoration
Joel 2: 18-29; Jer. 30:17-20; Zech. 8:9-13;10:1; Ezekiel 34:25-27
Divine restoration is promised to the repentant:
- Don’t limit divine restoration to only creature comforts – bread and butter, mortar and bricks
- There is a higher and ultimate promise (outpouring of the Spirit) to seek
- Stop lamenting the devastation and the ruins of the past; look forward to reaping the rain of divine restoration in the New Year (Job 11:13-19)
“I will abundantly bless her provision: I will satisfy her poor with bread” (Psalm 132:15).