THR GOD WHO RESTORES WASTED YEARS

THE GOD WHO RESTORES WASTED YEARS

By Rev. Samuel Arimoro

Main Text: Joel 2:25-27

Supporting Texts: Isaiah 61:7, Job 42:10, Jeremiah 30:17, Psalm 126:1-6, Zechariah 9:12

INTRODUCTION:
Life can sometimes take turns we never expected—seasons may pass, opportunities may be missed, and years may feel wasted due to sin, delay, ignorance, oppression, or the attacks of the enemy. The pain of wasted years is real, especially when one considers the time lost that cannot be physically recovered. However, our God is not limited by time. He stands outside of time, and He can compress time, redeem time, and restore what was lost.

When God speaks of restoring the years the locusts have eaten, He is not merely referring to crops or finances. He is referring to the years that seemed to have yielded nothing. These are the years of disappointment, tears, failure, unfruitfulness, and stagnation. But the same God who saw your pain and remembered your tears is also able to give you a glorious turnaround that makes up for the lost time.

God is a restorer. He specialises in turning the bitter into sweet and the broken into whole. No matter what you’ve lost—be it time, health, relationships, opportunities, or dignity—God has the power to give you restoration with compensation. When He restores, He adds interest and turns shame into glory.

1. GOD RESTORES TIME THAT WAS STOLEN OR WASTED

Time is one of the most precious gifts we have, and yet it is also the most difficult to recover. But God can supernaturally restore the years you thought were lost.

a) God can redeem lost years through divine acceleration (Amos 9:13)
The Lord is able to collapse processes and make things happen faster than usual when He chooses to restore.

b) God can restore time by causing you to achieve in one year what others achieve in ten (Psalm 90:14-15)
He gives satisfaction early in the morning and can multiply your results in a short time.

c) God uses restoration to bring glory out of past pain (Isaiah 61:7)
He exchanges your shame for double honour and causes you to rejoice where you once wept.

d) Divine restoration is often preceded by repentance and renewal (Joel 2:12-14)
When we return to God with a sincere heart, He restores and blesses again.

Biblical Example: Job experienced years of suffering, loss, and pain, but God restored him with double of all he lost (Job 42:10-12).

2. GOD RESTORES LOST OPPORTUNITIES

Opportunities missed or sabotaged may seem gone forever, but not with God. He can bring new doors and divine setups to compensate for what was lost.

a) God gives fresh doors where the old ones were shut (Revelation 3:8)
Even when men try to close doors, God can open new ones that no one can shut.

b) Restoration means divine connection to timely help (Isaiah 60:10)
God can bring people, platforms, and partnerships that accelerate your restoration.

c) He brings relevance back to forgotten people (1 Samuel 2:8)
Even if you were cast aside, God can place you among princes.

d) He reintroduces you in a greater dimension (Genesis 41:14-16)
God can lift a forgotten person and cause kings to look for them.

e) Biblical Example: Mordecai was forgotten for years until one night the king could not sleep, and God restored honour to him (Esther 6:1-11).

3. GOD RESTORES FRUITFULNESS AND IMPACT

Fruitless seasons can be frustrating, but when God steps in, He makes all things new and causes your life to be productive again.

a) God causes your land to yield again (Joel 2:24)
Where there was dryness, God brings abundance.

b) He brings new beginnings and second chances (Isaiah 43:19)
Even in the wilderness, He makes rivers to flow.

c) Restoration brings spiritual and physical results (Zechariah 8:12)
The seed shall be prosperous, and the vine shall yield her fruit.

d) Restoration is followed by rejoicing and thanksgiving (Psalm 126:5-6)
Tears may have sown the seed, but joy will harvest the fruit.

Biblical Example: Sarah waited long, but when God restored fruitfulness to her womb, she bore Isaac and laughed again (Genesis 21:1-6).

4. GOD RESTORES HEALTH AND EMOTIONAL WELL-BEING

Many have lost peace, joy, and health to the pressures of life. But God’s restoration reaches even the innermost part of man—mind, body, and soul.

a) God heals wounds and comforts the broken-hearted (Jeremiah 30:17)
He restores health and brings healing to emotional scars.

b) Restoration includes rest and peace (Psalm 23:3)
He restores your soul and leads you beside still waters.

c) He turns mourning into dancing (Isaiah 61:3)
God replaces ashes with beauty, and heaviness with praise.

d) The presence of God is key to restoration of peace (Philippians 4:7)
His peace guards your heart and mind through Christ Jesus.

Biblical Example: The woman with the issue of blood was not only healed but restored emotionally and socially (Mark 5:25-34).

5. GOD RESTORES DESTINIES AND PURPOSES

Even when life detours you from your original calling, God can realign you to your destiny and fulfil His purpose for your life.

a) God never forgets His covenant plans for you (Jeremiah 29:11)
His thoughts for you are of peace, not of evil, to give you a future.

b) He restores vision and renews direction (Proverbs 3:5-6)
In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your path.

c) Lost mantles can be recovered and restored (2 Kings 2:13-15)
God gives back what the enemy tried to steal.

d) Restoration brings divine repositioning (Psalm 75:6-7)
God sets one up and lifts another—your divine placement is possible again.

e) Biblical Example: Peter denied Jesus and failed in ministry, but Jesus restored him and used him powerfully again (John 21:15-17).

CONCLUSION:
No matter what you’ve lost, the God who restores wasted years is able to give you more than you ever had before. With Him, no experience is beyond repair, and no time is beyond redemption. He is the Author and the Finisher. He knows how to compress what takes ten years into ten months. His restoration is complete and glorious.

Trusting God for restoration means letting go of bitterness and opening your heart to receive what He has for you. Restoration begins when we return to Him fully and allow Him to rework the story of our lives. You may have cried over what was lost, but you will soon rejoice over what is recovered.

PRAYER POINTS:
1. Lord, restore every wasted year of my life in Jesus' name.
2. Father, give me double for every past shame.
3. Every opportunity I missed, let divine restoration locate me.
4. O God, compress time for my sake and accelerate my progress.
5. Let the rain of restoration fall upon every dry area of my life.
6. Father, restore health to my body and joy to my soul.
7. Lord, reintroduce me to my destiny in a greater dimension.
8. I receive restoration of lost glory and relevance.
9. O Lord, open new doors to make up for what I lost.
10. God of restoration, make my latter end greater than my beginning.

PROPHETIC DECLARATIONS:
1. You shall recover all that the enemy has stolen!
2. Your wasted years shall be restored with interest!
3. Doors that were shut shall open again for your good!
4. Where you were rejected, you will be celebrated!
5. God will give you double honour for every past shame!
6. Every lost opportunity is returning to you in a greater form!
7. You will sing again, dance again, and laugh again!
8. Restoration rain is falling upon your life and family!
9. You are moving from delay to divine acceleration!
10. The God of restoration shall visit you speedily and gloriously!