God Doesn’t Waste Anything, Mama

Tonight we will talk about how God uses the hard parts of our stories for His glory. He doesn’t waste anything, Mama. 

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Have you ever experienced something in your life where it wasn't what you would have wanted or chosen, and you couldn't see any reason why God would allow that to happen? We're gonna talk about that tonight on Midnight Mamas. I have a famous saying in my life when I have conversations with women or my children or even my husband, and we're talking about something that was hard or difficult, or maybe even something that is difficult or hard happening right now in our lives. And my saying is God doesn't waste anything. You see, mamas, when we go through trials and hard things, it's good to remember this exact saying that God doesn't waste anything. So even if it doesn't seem to make sense right now, just hold on and know that God isn't gonna waste it, and there's a plan for what is coming, even in the hard things. And I want to take you over to Scripture now, to Joel 225, which is one of the most hope-filled promises in the Old Testament. And here is the full verse. It says, And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the canker worm and the caterpillar, and the palmer worm, my great army which I sent among you. And here's the setting of this story. So in Joel's day a massive locust invasion had completely stripped the land of Israel. Crops were gone, vineyards were ruined, and the people faced famine and despair. The locusts were both a real disaster and a picture of God's judgment on that nation's sin. After calling the people to return to him with all their hearts in Joel 2, 12 through 13, God responds with a series of promises of restoration. And verse 25 is right in the middle of those promises. And what this verse is saying is that God is speaking as the one who allowed the destruction, and now he is the one who will reverse it. He does not simply say, I will give you a better harvest next year. He says he will restore the years that were eaten. This is a remarkable statement from the Lord. Years of loss, scarcity, and pain are not treated as permanently gone. God claims the authority and the willingness to make up for what was taken. And what does this mean for us, Mamas? It means that the locust stand for anything that consumes seasons of our lives, hard years of illness or grief, seasons of exhaustion and depletion, time that felt wasted or stolen, opportunities or relationships that were lost. You see, Mama, God promises that those years are not beyond his reach and that he can restore what the quote unquote locusts have eaten in our lives. He sometimes does this by giving back what was lost, sometimes by bringing fruit out of the very places of loss, and always by weaving the hard years into a larger story of redemption. That is why the verse fits so perfectly with tonight's understanding of God doesn't waste anything. The years that felt eaten up are still held in God's hands, and He is able to restore them. When I think about the Lord restoring and not wasting anything, I think about it in terms of this. The Lord can take what looks lost, broken, or spent, and he can bring it back whole or even better than before. In my own personal life, I had a season that I felt the locusts had eaten. And I was blessed to have people in my life at the time that said, the Lord will restore that which the locusts have eaten. And I honestly didn't understand it. I couldn't see it in that moment and in that season because it was so dark and hard. But I am now in a place where I understand the restoration part of God and how even in these broken places that we walk through, even when things are difficult and not the way we would have picked, God shows up and he walks with us through those seasons. And then not only does he walk with us through the hard things and promise to be with us in those fires, but he also then restores it. And he gives back things that we would not have understood at that time. And in my life, it was relationships, and it doesn't mean I ended up back with those people because I didn't. But it does mean that God brought into my life just what I needed and blessed me beyond measure with the things that I have today, which back in those days was a future I couldn't see. But what I do know is that when I sat in a place where I did not understand and I would use the word why. Why did you allow this to happen? I didn't have the answer right in front of me, except to know that the God I served was faithful and loving and just, and his love for me would never stop. So I knew I could trust God in those hard places, even when I didn't understand. And I didn't really think about what it would look like when he would restore the things that were lost or broken to me. But sitting in this place now and looking back years ago, I can see where things were broken and damaged and needed repaired or replaced, and God was so faithful to do that. So let's return back to these words. God doesn't waste anything. I went and looked it up today how many times the word restored was written in the Bible, because as I went to look for verses, I couldn't believe how many there really were. And it says that there's about 40 times in Scripture that the word restore is used. And 27 of them are from Genesis to Hebrews, and they cover, they cover things like being given back, healed, or returned to a former state, like a withered hand that was restored, or a son that was restored to life, or land or money being restored. And I don't think there's any accident here that God gives us so many examples of his restoration power in our lives, because he will do this for us. And sometimes we'll look at a season or something in our life and we'll say, I just don't see how God could use that. But the beautiful thing is, no matter what your story is, what your scars are, where you came from, what you've walked through, what you've lost, God isn't gonna waste it. So if you are sitting in a season now, mamas, with your little ones, and you have been a person who's walked through hard things or lost things or have broken pieces in your story, just know that God is the restorer of your soul and he's also the restorer of your story. So, mamas, just know that God doesn't waste anything in your life as a mama or as a woman because you are deeply loved by a God who you can trust. So tonight, mamas, I want you to carry that understanding with you that God does restore what the locusts have eaten. Tonight, mamas, I want to leave you with a blessing from number 6, 24 through 26. May the Lord bless you and keep you, make his face to shine upon you, be gracious unto you, turn his face towards you, and give you peace. Amen. Until next time, mamas, remember that God doesn't waste anything that we walk through in our lives, as mamas or as women. Take care, mamas, and we'll talk again soon.