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A God Who Restores Wasted Years
David Wilkerson
“So I will restore to you the years that the
swarming locust has eaten” (Joel 2:25).
Did you waste years before you repented and
surrendered all to Jesus?
You may think, “I could have been so much
deeper in Christ. I could have brought so much joy to his heart. I can never
make up all those wasted years.”
We all want to make up to God our lost years, to
make amends and repay him.
But he says, “I will make it up to you! You
can’t repay me for a single wasted hour, so walk before me in righteousness and
turn from your sins. I will make up all the losses, regardless of whether they
are yours, your family’s or others.”
To repentant sinners, the Lord declares, “Fear
not … be glad and rejoice, for the Lord has done marvelous things!” (Joel 2:21).
You do not need to be ashamed of your wasted
years. You were born for his eternal purposes.
He planned for you a life of satisfaction, joy
and usefulness in his kingdom, but God’s plan for your life was interrupted by
the devourer.
But now, in Christ, all is new!
The Lord goes back to the day the locust came
and he starts counting again from the moment you repented.
All those blessings you missed were stored up,
and all the joy and peace you thought gone forever were actually kept by the
Lord.
Paul said, “Forgetting those things which are
behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the
goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:13-14).
You may feel pangs of remorse for your wasted
time, and memories will keep you humble, but in God’s eyes, your past is a dead
issue.
Your loving Father says, “Forget the past and
press on to what I have promised you.”
David Wilkerson was the Founding Pastor of Times Square Church in New
York City. He was called to New York in 1958 to minister to gang members and
drug addicts, as told in the best-selling book, The Cross and the
Switchblade.
In 1987, David Wilkerson
returned to "the crossroads of the world" to establish Times Square
Church. As a pastor of the church, he faithfully led this congregation,
delivering powerful biblical messages that encourage righteous living and complete
reliance on God.
David Wilkerson had a strong
burden to encourage and strengthen pastors throughout the world. From 1999
to 2008, he traveled around the globe holding conferences for Christian
ministers.
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