"I Will Restore What Was Lost"
Pastor Stephen L Girsh, Sr
February 4, 2026
Joel 2:25 "I will restore to you the years that the locust has eaten..."
A reminder that God meets us in seasons of loss and promises restoration that goes deeper than what was taken.
Message
The book of Joel opens with devastation — fields stripped bare, harvests ruined, and a people wondering how they will ever recover. The locusts didn’t just take crops; they took time, stability, and the sense of a predictable life.
But God speaks into that emptiness with a promise that still echoes today: “I will restore.”
Restoration in Joel isn’t simply about getting back what was lost. It’s about God doing something new — something that grows out of the very places that felt barren. God doesn’t ignore the pain or pretend the loss didn’t happen. Instead, He steps into it and brings renewal that only He can accomplish.
Many of us know what it feels like to lose “years” — seasons that didn’t go the way we hoped, moments we can’t get back, chapters marked by struggle or sorrow. Joel reminds us that God is not limited by time or circumstance. He can redeem what feels wasted. He can breathe life into what feels empty. He can bring fruit where we only see stumps.
The promise of Joel is not that life will return to what it was, but that God will bring us into something deeper, richer, and more rooted in Him.
Closing Thought
God’s restoration is never just a return — it’s a renewal. Trust Him with the places that feel lost.
Closing Prayer
Lord, You see the years that feel eaten away, the moments we wish we could reclaim, and the places where loss has left its mark. Restore what only You can restore. Renew our strength, our hope, and our faith. Grow something beautiful in the places that feel barren. Amen.