Perhaps you have lost it all. Your job is gone, you have lost your house, and your
investments have vanished. Perhaps you have lost your ministry and even your
reputation. You have lost everything. Do not despair, for God's Word is a marvelous
record of divine restoration.
To the Israelites who had lost their economy due to plagues resulting from their sin, God
said: "And 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. And ye
shall eat in plenty, and be satisfied, and praise the name of the Lord your God, that hath
dealt wondrously with you: and my people shall never be ashamed" (Joel 2:25-26).
Even though the economic devastation Israel was experiencing was the result of their
own sins, God promised restoration when they returned to Him. Perhaps your financial or
spiritual crisis is your fault because of unwise decisions or violations of scriptural
principles. Regardless of the reason for your crisis, God wants to restore all you have
lost.
Perhaps the losses you are experiencing are not your fault. Have you done everything
you know to do right and still lost everything? You are not alone. Two men in the Bible
experienced total devastation and divine restoration:
Job: "Everything is gone!" In essence, these are words Job declared when he said,
"...Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the Lord
gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord. In all this Job
sinned not, nor charged God foolishly" (Job 1:21-22). Job lost his children, his house,
and his flocks--the latter which represented his income. His wife turned against him, and
Job was afflicted physically, but still he refused to blame God or grow bitter. Instead,
Job worshipped the Lord. In the end, God blessed Job with more than he had before his
devastating losses (Job 42:12).
David: David experienced similar devastation when he lost everything at a place called
Ziklag. The Amalekites invaded the city and took the women captive, including David's
wives. Everything the people owned was gone and the city was burned to the ground.
David and his men wept until there were more no tears left to shed. It was a desperate
situation, and David's men were so upset that they even talked of killing him because
they blamed him for their losses (1 Samuel 30:1-6). In the face of this devastation,
David encouraged himself in the Lord, took his troops, and returned to the battlefield to
reclaim all that was rightfully his (1 Samuel 30:18-19).
Job and David recovered all--and then some! God wants to restore all you have lost also.
Do not remain in the midst of financial or spiritual ruins weeping over your losses.
Encourage yourself in the Lord, then rise up and begin to act in faith to claim total
restoration.
PRAYER:
My FATHER, My God, this year let my life reflect the blessing of the Lord, I shall not be static, I decree PROGRESS, FAVOR, HONOR, AND INFLUENCE are my portion. My life is SALTED, My speech is SALTED, My Home and Business are SALTED in the name of Jesus.