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I'm going to go out on a limb and say most

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of us at some point felt

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like life's setbacks and struggles robbed

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us of something precious . Maybe

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it was a dream deferred , a relationship

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fractured or a season of hardship

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that seems never-ending . Maybe

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you're feeling like that right now . Today's

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promise found in Joel 2.25

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should help . In

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Joel 2.25 , god says

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I will repay you for

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the years the locusts have eaten

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. When I read the text , I imagined

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a farmer who wakes up to find his

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fields destroyed by

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swarms of locusts . Years

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of hard work gone in an instant

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. But then she stumbles upon Joel 2.25

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, a promise of restoration , a

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promise from God that he will

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repay what was lost , that abundance

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will replace scarcity and joy

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will conquer sorrow . How

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many of us have felt like those fields

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ravaged by the storms of life

1:08

? How many of us have cried out for restoration

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, longing for the days when our peace

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and hope will flourish and our

1:15

broken hearts will be healed ? We've

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all been there . But here's the good

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news God is in the business

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of restoration . He's not

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content to leave us in the rubble of our

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brokenness . He's in the business

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of weaving beauty from ashes

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and turning mourning into joy

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. So can I encourage you to dare

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to believe in God's promise of restoration

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. Today , let's trust that he

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can turn our seasons of loss into

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seasons of abundance , or years

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of sorrow into years of rejoicing

1:47

. My prayer for all of us today

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is that we'll walk in faith , knowing

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that God is faithful to

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restore what the locusts have eaten

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. The locusts could be a divorce , death

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of a loved one , a lost job , sickness

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. Whatever it is , god promises

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to restore it and he is

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not slack concerning

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his promises . That's

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our promise for today . Thank you for stopping

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by . I trust that you'll stop by

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again tomorrow . Have a good day

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.