God Wants to Restore the Years the Locust Has Eaten

“I will restore to you the years that the … locust has eaten” (Joel 2:25, ESV).

Do you feel too young, too old, too damaged or it’s too late to be used by God? Does it seem like relationships, finances or health can never be recovered?

God once used an angel to show me that it wasn’t too late for me. At that time I had come fairly recently into Spirit-filled life and ministry. Others my age had been in ministry for 30 years, and I was just getting started.

At one point when I particularly doubted God’s plans for me, the Lord spoke. First, He rebuked me for my unbelief, and then told me He was going to give me a sign that He was with me. I doubted even this! But what happened next still amazes me.

Several days later I took my daughter to an appointment; it also happened to be my 48th birthday. Afterward, we went to lunch at a favorite restaurant—one where you order your food and are given a number for your table.

Shortly after getting our food, my daughter got up to get some condiments we’d forgotten. Since our table had a view of the whole restaurant, I was surprised when a man I hadn’t seen before approached our table. He pointed to the order number on our table (which I hadn’t noticed was 48), smiled slightly and said, “You’re not 48, you’re 28.” Then he turned and left.

I was stunned. My mind raced—how had this stranger known it was my 48th birthday? My daughter hurried over and asked what he’d said. As I related his words, we both agreed that something prophetic had just happened.

Later that day the Lord explained the message. He revealed that He’d sent a prophetic blessing—that the 20 or so missed and seemingly wasted years (when I had been ignorant of many spiritual truths and not pressing into His plans for me) would be restored to me. He promised to condense and compress the blessing of my destiny into the years I had left—that nothing would be missed!

I’m convinced the ordinary, almost scruffy-looking man in the restaurant was an angel. Not only had he not been present earlier, but also our eyewitness accounts did not match. My daughter saw him approach the table from the opposite direction I did, and she said he disappeared, while I saw him exit out the door! God, indeed, had given me a sign.

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God is no respecter of persons. What He’s done for me, He will do for you. Discover how to position yourself to receive the blessing of restoration! Listen to this episode of Preparing the Way on Charisma Podcast Network, God Wants to Restore to You the Years the Locust Has Eaten. {eoa}

Diane Lake is a writer, speaker and minister ordained with both Christian International and Generals International. Her articles are regularly featured on The Elijah List, as well as platforms like Charisma Magazine, Intercessors For America and others. She and her husband, Allen, co-founded Starfire Ministries with a vision to see the kingdom established beyond the four walls of the traditional church. They host a podcast with Charisma Podcast Network, and serve as church mountain, regional, and montana coordinators for the Reformation Prayer Network, and as media mountain leader/facilitators for C.I.’s Culture Influencers.

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