Liberty Crew,
Well 2023 is here, and here we go! 😊 It was fun to gather at the Roberson’s place on Sunday to start off the new year. Thanks much to Jim and Dawn for hosting and for all who prepared food. It was a sweet time together.
I shared briefly from Joel 2:24-26 during our time together. My thoughts were taken much from this thought that I wrote down about 2 ½ years ago:
Can God redeem the ravaged years of our lives? Does he repay and renew? In Joel God’s people had endured four long years of devastation. Year after year locusts destroyed their crops and left them nothing. The lord promises (Joel 2:24-26):
The threshing floors will be filled with grain; the vats will overflow with new wine and oil.
25 “I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten- the great locust and the young locust,
the other locusts and the locust swarm[b]—
my great army that I sent among you.
26 You will have plenty to eat, until you are full, and you will praise the name of the Lord your God,
who has worked wonders for you;
never again will my people be shamed.
Lost relationships. Lost houses. A loss of a job. Loss of a country, land, even the loss of health or loved ones are all things we walk through. Depending on the significance or value of these things, they can leave us feeling utterly alone. Most of these can be replaced at some level or at least a fresh start can evolve. The loss of time though is something we just can’t get back. I have thought to myself and sat with many who say, “but I just can’t get all this wasted time back. It has been stolen from me.”
The Lord promises though to bring a season of renewal to His people where he will indeed repay them for the years the locusts have eaten. Repaying years. Years? This week this verse was shared with me in light of the last 7 years where I have faced significant and devastating loss. Blindness, the loss of a dream in living in Nepal for many years to come, a church plant that did not pan out how I hoped. Loss of friends due to fallout. The Lord promises that He will redeem the years as He pours out His Spirit. A time of overflow and abundance will come.
For the last five weeks I have been sitting with future missionaries as they seek to serve cross-culturally. I am now sitting in a different place hoping to impart something of what I learned through teaching, modeling, and telling my story. There have been so many months, perhaps even years where it has felt like the “locusts” have eaten them up. As I share and enter into this new role I sense the Lord is turning the tide in my life. God helped me see how many of the pieces are fitting together as students encouraged me this week where this verse from Joel was brought up. The years the locusts can be redeemed as I share my story of God’s faithfulness and how He has worked wonders in our lives.
I hold to this promise. If you are coming out of season of deep mourning or loss, know that the Lord is faithful to His promises and He will redeem the times. Maybe that repayment and blessing won’t come how or when you expect but it will happen. 2020 has been a year of darkness and gloom for so many. God promises to redeem the times. Don’t rush it. Don’t demand it. . . but wait for it. . . expect it. . . walk in it. These are the things the Spirit has been speaking to me so very clearly this week. Take a look at Joel 2 when you get a chance. The Spirit ablaze comes at the most unique and unlikely of times. May we be propelled towards praise and adoration of our God who has worked wonders among us.
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The words are still as true today as they were 2 ½ years ago when I wrote them. Liberty Vineyard, I believe that God is asking us to rise up from the rubble and mess and stand strong, awaiting expectantly the Spirit’s outpouring. Standing with you expectantly.
This Sunday:
This Sunday we will be starting a new series on the book of 1 John. I am excited to study the Word with you verse by verse. Also, we will have a time of sharing after the church service over pizza where we reflect on how God has been working over this last year as well as what the Lord is birthing in our midst for the future. Please come ready to share what the Lord has spoken this last year.
With you,
John
John D. Trotter
Senior Pastor, Liberty Vineyard Church