Forgiveness

I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the cankerworm, and the caterpiller, and the palmerworm, my great army which I sent among you – Joel 2:25

Do you have chapters in your life that you wish you could rewrite? Do you have regrets or sorrows or wounds from past sins?

The wonderful promise of God is that he does not only forgive the repentant sinner — he heals the repentant sinner. Although it is true that we may suffer life-long trials because of sinful choices in the past, the Lord is able to restore the years that you may feel have been eaten up by guilt, sinfulness, or immaturity.

God says, “I will restore to you the years…” How can this be? Will he reverse our life’s clock, will he turn back our calendar? No. But God is able to pack so much living, so much vitality, so much blessing into the years that you have remaining that you will be enabled to live a life-time of joys and victories and pleasures in the remaining years you have left.

Remember the thief on the cross? Here was a man who had squandered all his life on murder, thievery, and selfishness. And, yet, God arrested him in the waning moments of his life, brought him to repentance and faith in Christ, and then used the fleeting few minutes he had left to leave behind him an everlasting testimony of God’s grace to save, to pardon, to instruct, and even to resurrect.

No matter how the chapters of your life have been written thus far, know this: when you repent and turn to Jesus Christ for salvation, he is able to multiply to you the remaining years of your life and use you mightily for his kingdom. He is willing to receive the repentant, and he is able to restore the ruined.