They were everywhere: a relentless swarm of locusts had overwhelmed the nation of Judah. The insects destroyed everything—the gardens, the fields of grain, the vineyards, and the trees. It was so bad that Joel compared the hefty hoard of locusts to a marching human army and, with a broken heart, said that God was showing divine judgment against the nation because Judah had turned her back on God. In fact, He was using the angry insects to discipline His children. Love often shows up as discipline. And discipline isn’t pleasant. But the same love that disciplines also restores. God said, “I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten” (Joel 2:25).

All of us have places in our lives where the “locusts” have eaten—missed opportunities because of bad choices, mistakes made, and losses piled on. God often uses those hard places as His Fatherly hand to nudge us forward—to teach us and train us. Sometimes the locusts in our lives—what we think is hurtful interference—are really God’s loving intervention. God’s gentle, and even not-so gentle, discipline makes space in our lives for the outpouring of God’s Spirit (2:28–29).

Those locust times and places are not dead ends; they can become the path to greater blessing. As Paul put it thousands of years later, “In all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28).

God may not replace what you have lost, but He will redeem what you have lost. Even your most agonizing loss—even your worst day—will be redeemed as God works it all together for good. Focus today not on the pain of discipline but on the promise of deliverance. Focus not on what you have lost, but on how God is using that loss to grant you greater blessing.