“I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten.” Joel 2:25
Here are three more varieties of the “lost” years:
5. Rebellious years
Perhaps you have been like the prodigal son. You grew up with many blessings, but in your heart there was an instinct to rebel. You threw yourself into a life that was the opposite of what you knew was right. But instead of bringing you pleasure, it brought you pain. Now you look back with regret on the years that the locusts have eaten.
6. Misdirected years
You followed a path, but it didn’t work out the way you hoped it would. The path you chose in your career or at college was a dead end. You found yourself in a place where you just didn’t fit. Now you look back at your life and feel you should have made a different choice.
You sometimes wonder, How did I end up here? And more and more you find yourself saying, “If only… If only I had made that move… If only I had taken that opportunity… If only I had chosen a different path….” But the moment has passed. It’s gone. You can’t go back to it. And all you’re left with is the locust years.
7. Christ-less years
All Christ-less years are locust years. This is worth thinking about if you have not yet made a commitment to Christ. Ask anyone who came to faith in Christ later in life and they will tell you that they wish they’d come to Christ sooner: “So much bad I could have avoided, and so much good I might have done.”
Have you wasted years in rebellion, misdirection, or Christ-lessness?
