June 19 | Application

The Years the Locusts Have Eaten

By David Faust

Farming is a difficult way to earn a living. Would you like your livelihood to depend on the weather? Too much rain (or too little). Higher (or lower) temperatures than normal. Fluctuating fuel prices. Shifting consumer demands. Farmers deal with all of these variables and more. It takes faith in God to plant and harvest as a way of life.

Ancient farmers had no tractors to make their work easier, no trucks to carry their produce to market, no manufactured fertilizers to help their crops grow. Droughts, fires, and floods could wipe out their crops and eliminate their food supplies. Without pesticides to fight back, farmers watched in desperation when locusts swarmed through their fields. These aggressive insects could ruin acres of grain in a few hours while their wings made a terrifying sound.

The prophet Joel foresaw a damaging plague of locusts in Judah. “The fields are ruined, the ground is dried up; the grain is destroyed, the new wine is dried up, the olive oil fails. Despair, you farmers, wail, you vine growers; grieve for the wheat and the barley, because the harvest of the field is destroyed” (Joel 1:10-11). Even worse, the army of locusts foreshadowed an upcoming military invasion that would devastate the land. “Surely the people’s joy is withered away,” the prophet lamented (1:12).

WHAT IS CONSUMING YOUR DREAMS?

You probably don’t wake up in the morning thinking about locusts, but are other worries eating away your confidence? “Locusts” come in different forms. A promising career gives way to unemployment. A happy marriage disintegrates into dullness and tension. Friends prove unfaithful. The church disappoints you. Youth yields to old age. Health surrenders to disease.

What should you do when “locusts” threaten to consume your dreams and devour your joy? Joel suggested three ways to respond.

Join others in prayer. Joel said, “Declare a holy fast; call a sacred assembly. Summon the elders and all who live in the land to the house of the Lord your God, and cry out to the Lord” (1:14). In a national emergency, the correct response was to gather God’s people for fasting and prayer. On a lesser scale, the same principle applies to individuals. You don’t have to face tough times alone. Ask the church’s elders and other friends to join you in fasting and prayer.

Repent and turn to God. “Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love’” (2:13).

Rely on the Holy Spirit. Foretelling the Day of Pentecost, Joel quoted the Lord: “And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people” (2:28). Whatever “locusts” you face, the Spirit’s power can make you an overcomer.

RENEWED HOPE

Joel’s dire prophecies included an encouraging promise. God said, “I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten . . . . never again will my people be shamed” (2:25-26).

The Lord can restore the years the locusts have eaten. Either in this life or the next, the lonely will find fellowship. The brokenhearted will find comfort. The disappointed will experience fulfillment. The aching will find relief. Dark shadows will fade in the bright light of eternity. Temporary misery will be replaced by Heaven’s joy.

Meanwhile, don’t be surprised when some locusts show up. I recommend keeping a large flyswatter handy.

Personal Challenge: What “locusts” are eating away at your life and making you worry? On a piece of paper or in your prayer journal, list the things you are worried about. Then write a brief prayer, giving them all to the Lord. Ask the heavenly Father to restore your hope and renew your faith.