THE UPPER ROOM DAILY DEVOTIONAL 5 MAY 2024, SUNDAY MESSAGE
TOPIC: Brokenness to Blessings
TODAY’S READING
Joel 2:18-27
I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the cankerworm, and the caterpiller, and the palmerworm, my great army which I sent among you. – Joel 2:25 (KJV)
TODAY’S MESSAGE
Many years ago I was going through a very rough time, just coping day by day clinging to faith and trusting that God would help me soon. Then one day out of the blue when I was alone, this verse came into my mind: “I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten.” I received it as a promise from God that whatever I was going through would pass, and that God would restore what I had lost and bless me.
Years later, this verse is still vividly clear in my mind. As I look back now, I realize the Lord has indeed restored my life and blessed me in many ways. Through this verse, I’ve learned that God’s promise of restoration means that God can take what is broken and put it together again, making it better than it was before.
God has enabled me to use my past to help others today. As a life coach and youth mentor, I’m now able to empathize and understand better the challenges and helplessness others are going through without judgment or prejudice. God has indeed turned the ashes of my past to beauty — the beauty of helping those who are in the wilderness now. That in itself is a blessing.
TODAY’S PRAYER
Lord God, thank you for your promise that you will never leave nor forsake us when we are in the wilderness. Help us to trust in your promise of restoration. Amen.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
When faced with challenges, I will trust that God will see me through.
PRAYER FOCUS
Those who mentor young people
The Upper Room Daily Devotional 5 May 2024 Message. The Upper Room is a daily devotional magazine published in more than 30 languages and 100 countries around the world. The daily meditations are written by readers of the magazine and others interested in sharing their faith experiences through writing—both laity and clergy, published authors and new writers. The meditations are stories of real people working to live faithfully with the Bible as their touchstone. Every day, readers of The Upper Room around the world read the same story in many different languages and pray the same prayer together. Read More