Locusts ate my Paycheck

Locusts ate my Paycheck
Feb 13, 2012
Joel 2:25 "'I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten. . . '"

Locusts are a grasshopper that can devour an entire field of crops in a matter of minutes. A swarm of locusts can wreak havoc on an area of countryside in just days. What takes weeks and months to plant and grow can be eaten by locusts in moments. While most of us don't live in an agrarian society that is susceptible to locusts, we can understand the devastation that can occur to our livelihood if an entire year's paycheck was consumed by a single unexpected catastrophe. In the Bible, locusts were used to describe just such a devastation, an event or time-period where a person is left destitute and completely helpless to stop it. You may have experienced time-periods of locusts in your life; the Lord prescribes a method of dealing with such calamity.

In the book of Joel, the Lord gave Joel a set of prophesies; some have already been fulfilled and some are yet to come. Throughout the text written by the prophet, the Lord uses imagery and words that give us deep clues into His character. Part of the Lord's character that is revealed is the response required of us when we have been devastated by locusts. In Joel, the Lord describes a devastation upon the land and tells the Children of Israel how He wants them to deal with it. He said they should declare a sacred fast and make sure their hearts are turned toward Him. He said they should each weigh their own hearts and ensure the Lord is the number one priority in their lives. He said they should examine themselves, repent of any sin, and declare their dependence upon the Lord.

In the Bible, a swarm of locusts, or a major devastation to a person's livelihood, was either sent by the Lord in order to get someones attention or by the Enemy in an effort to destroy a person. In both cases, it required an act of God to overcome the devastation. In some of the cases, the Lord relented after getting the person's attention, turning their eyes onto Him. In some of the cases, the Lord decided to step in on behalf of His children when the enemy was the cause. But it didn't matter what caused the locusts in a person's life, it just mattered how the person dealt with it--by turning toward the Lord in full and complete dependence.

We are living in an economic time-period that is akin to locusts; this presents us with an opportunity to respond how the Lord has prescribed: in complete and utter dependence upon Him. He wants our hearts to be completely toward Him, sin confessed (if any), and with a deep anticipation of Him to move on our behalf. If you feel the current economic time-period is not yet to the point of being like locusts in your life, the Lord still would like to have your undivided attention. If we all turn toward Him, Scripture says that He may relent, stop the locusts before they have eaten it all, and leave a blessing in its place. Locusts or otherwise, if the Lord sees our response of dependence upon Him, His Word has declared He would repay all that the locusts have eaten, that He will restore what was taken from us.

The Lord isn't interested in your crops, or your paycheck; He is interested in seeing you being completely dependent upon Him for everything. He wants your face turned toward Him at all times and your willingness to confess all your sins (regardless of how righteous you think you are, there is still a sin the Lord wants to get out of your life). If you have seen the devastation of locusts in your life, look toward the Lord, with your heart fully focused on Him.

Don't take my word for it; look it up: 2 Chron 7:13-15, Joel 1-3