I will repay you for the years
that the swarming locust ate,
the young locust, the destroying locust,
and the devouring locust—
My great army that I sent against you.Joel 2:25
All of us have places in our lives where the “locusts” have eaten—hopes dashed, mistakes made, and losses piled on. God says He will repay all that damage.
The word repay in Joel 2:25 is shalam. Sound familiar? What word comes to mind when you see shalam? I bet you’d say peace. Me too; that’s what comes to mind. But this word shalam means “to be safe (in mind, body or estate); figuratively, to be (causatively, make) completed.”
Since Joel was talking about damage done in the past, he promised two things. God will make us safe from past damage, and He will make it somehow complete.
When Gomer said “I do” to Hosea, she became the beloved bride—complete. Her past was overwritten by her present. And, then, when she strayed and became enslaved, Hosea redeemed her and made her safe—even from past damage.
The idea that God completes our past, helps me understand Romans 8:28 even better.
We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God: those who are called according to His purpose.
It says God makes all things work for the good of those who love Him, right?
God works all things together, including my past damage, for good. How?
You may have endured something so awful in your past that you can’t even imagine God redeeming it and restoring shalam to you. But His promise is true. What the Enemy stole, God will shalam. What selfish people have taken from you, God will repay.
Faithful Job went through so much loss, but the worst of it had to be the loss of his children. You know his story, right? Well, after so much damage, Scripture says, “the LORD blessed the last part of Job’s life more than the first… He also had seven sons and three daughters.” (Job 42:12-13). I think it is wonderful of God to shalam all Job’s loss, but, seven new sons and three new daughters do not replace the children Job lost. They were an added blessing, but not a replacement. At least that’s the way my mom heart feels.
I think all parents know that replacing a lost child with other children is impossible. Though a parent loves the new child like crazy, the hole in our heart from the lost child is still there. Yet the message of Job suggests God has restored all of Job’s losses. Could Joel 2:25 and Hosea 2:15b speak to the same mystery?
There she will respond as she did
in the days of her youth,
as in the day she came out of the land of Egypt.Hosea 2:15b
Hosea says God will restore Gomer/Israel so they will respond as they did in their youth. Joel promises God will repay what has been taken away, making it both safe and complete. Paul says all things work for our good. Job was blessed beyond all he had lost.
God may not replace what you have lost, but He will repay what you have lost. He will shalam. Look at Genesis 50:20 and speak that truth to your past damage and loss. Seriously, sister. You may even need to stand up, turn around as if you are addressing your past, and quote that truth to it.
You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done… (NIV)
Good job! I am cheering you on and saying it right along with you.
You are not your past! You are not what has happened to you. You are not your struggle. You are not someone else’s opinion. You are not your fear or insecurity. You are loved, accepted, and complete. You are the beloved.
This is an excerpt from Hosea: Unfailing Love Changes Everything available now at Lifeway.com/Hosea.
