“And I will give you back the crops the locusts ate!—my great destroying army that I sent against you. Joel 2:25
I have said it to a couple of friends and family members towards the end of last year: "This year felt like 5 years compressed into one." I travelled to 3 different continents on mission trips, was used by God to start a ministry, left my family and home in Florida to start a new life with New Vision Church in Georgia, and to top it all off, after 10 years of considering myself a failed artist and never selling a thing, God released a tremendous blessing by enabling me to sell over a dozen paintings and allowing me to open an active online market place.
So it looks like I was wrong - this was actually more like ten years in one.
I owe it all to God's amazing grace and kindness. Hebrews 11:6 says that it is impossible to please God without faith, for those who wish to draw close to him must believe He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him. I have seen it again and again; when you acknowledge God through faith and make decisions to boldly obey what His word says, Hebrews 11:6 says He will reward you. The reward? He will draw you closer to Him and you will get to see how infallibly true His promises really are.
In India I saw God as the one who is ever watchful over orphans, the poor, and the contrite of heart as He fed hundreds of homeless people, provided for orphans in a hostel program we hosted a youth camp for, and blessed a people who are eagerly repenting from a culture that worships millions of idols.
In El Salvador I saw God as the one who gives hope, as He used my experiences there to launch Paint by Faith and gave me the first glimpse of hope in starting a family.
In Kenya I saw God as the Victorious One, as I witnessed a people who never stopped dancing, singing, and celebrating the Lord, even amidst crippling corruption, poverty and spiritual darkness.
And as we transition into a new year, God is showing me He is the one who can restore lost time, as He has redeemed the time I wasted as a lost and failed artist and has invested it into His kingdom work.
As you reflect on the years gone by, don't forget to acknowledge the year ahead, and how one act of bold obedience may lead to a chain of events that'll result in the Lord restoring some painfully lost time.
