RESTORED

One year an infestation of Mormon crickets (really big insects!) spread across certain parts of America, eating loads of their crops (costing about £25 million!). There were so many of these big bugs that people couldn’t walk anywhere without stepping on them—which just sounds gross! The grasshopper-like insects eat so much that they can quickly destroy whole farms and farming communities within days.

The Old Testament prophet Joel talked about a swarm of similar insects destroying the entire nation of Judah because they had ignored and rejected God. He told them about an upcoming invasion of locusts (which was a picture for the foreign Babylonian army that was going to take them captive into exile). This invasion was going to be like nothing the nation had seen before in its history (JOEL 1:2). The ‘locusts’ would lay waste to everything in their path, driving the people into famine and poverty. If, however, the people would turn from their sinful ways and ask God for forgiveness, Joel said God would “repay [them] for the years the locusts have eaten” (2:25).

We too can learn from Judah’s lesson: like insects, our wrongdoings eat away at the good, Jesus-centred life God intends for us. When we keep Him at the centre, and turn away from our past choices, He promises to remove our shame and help us live a new life of growth, not destruction.