“I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten.”

 – Joel 2:25 KJV 

 In Joel 2, the Israelites were called to turn from their ways, and to turn back to God. Sometimes, we are really hard on ourselves after we make bad choices or mistakes. We feel like we don’t deserve any good things. But, God is still working on us and still loves us. When we make so many bad choices, that we end up in the wrong place; God is still there with us to help us find our way to where we need to be. He is like our built in GPS. Deep in the back of our minds, He is telling us to head a certain direction. And, when we go the wrong direction, He reroutes for us to get to the destination, that He intended for us. We just need to listen to God and obey His directions. Furthermore, “When we make bad choices, it’s hard to believe anything good can grow in our lives again.” (Nortker, 3-Minute Devotionals For Women, p.322) But, Romans 8:28 says, “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” Notice how it says, “all things” and not some things. All things means not only our good choices, but also our bad choices. God knows everything. Isaiah 46:10 reminds us that, God knows “…what will happen in the end…” This means He even knows the mistakes we will make in the future. When we make these mistakes, God will still love us and have plans for our lives. God is bigger than our mistakes.

 “Only God can turn

 a mess into a message,

a test into a testimony,

a trial into a triumph,

a victim into a victory,

 a problem into a prayer.”

 -Nishan Panwar

We just need to be patient and willing to follow His directions, when He is rerouting our lives. Amen.

Reference:

Brigitta Nortker, comp. 3-Minute Devotionals For Women. Uhrichsville: Barbour, Ohio. Print.