I never thought to ask this!

I had a very restorative day today.  Many of you know that my favorite Scripture is Joel 2:25 because of the promise it contains.  The King James reads:  And 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.

What a great promise that contains and when I read it, my heart just latched onto that verse.  It doesn't mean that everything will go back to the way it was, but it's a promise from God of restoration.  In my case, that restoration began with taking something away from me.  I had to lose almost everything for me to be lost enough that Jesus found me.  He, as I point out, was not the one that was lost.  I was. 

My growth as a Christian didn't happen overnight, either.  The burden of sins of the past was listed but not the consequences of them.  Those will follow me the rest of my life.  So will the blessings of the lessons learned.  God is busy at work in my life and I see that promise coming true.  Relationships with my children are slowly, but surely being restored.  It took God to soften those hearts and having my children restored to me is such a blessing!  I missed out on so much of their lives.

It doesn't end there, either.  I asked God one night three years ago not to take something from me and He did.  He took a relationship, but not the person, from my life. In God's wisdom, He allowed Tami Jo and I to be friends.  We still are and my friend is back in my life again.  I've been hesitant to accept the things happening as being from God, but the more I listen and see, the more I see His hand in the things coming to pass.

I'm praying more these days.  One thing I'm praying for is a red and black box on my dresser.  It's a men's ministry starter kit.  In the literature it suggests to pray and ask God about me being the right guy and what I'm going to do, and to ask God what He is going to to.  We have some thoughts about some men we can reach out to at our local pregnancy care center and that's been on my heart.  But asking the Creator of the Universe to disclose what He is going to do....?

I never would have presumed to ask God what He is going to do.  It's the right question, though.  What God is going to do has absolutely everything to do with what I'm going to do.  Turns out that this was the correct question to ask because....

I was visiting with the Chaplain at work on Monday evening and we wound up talking about this opportunity.  It turns out that he ran a men's ministry at a pregnancy care center for five years in the place he used to live.  What God was going to do was hook us up with a resource to help us better plan what we are going to do.  God gave us the opportunity.  God provided the starter kit.  I'm willing and hoping I'm the right guy to lead this.  I wanted to get some skills and a training opportunity may be available to get some skills for being a facilitator.  I asked God what He is going to do and God showed up!  He always does.

I can look back this afternoon and see the promise of Joel 2:25 in my life.  First God restored me to Himself.  I have a relationship with Him through Christ.  I'm walking and talking with Jesus and am in awe of how much Jesus cares for me.  I'm growing deeper in my faith and trust that as Lord of my life, He's doing a far, far better job of running it.  I see things now that I couldn't see two weeks ago.  I see clearly how I am a part of the vine.  I see it happening and so much is happening at once I honestly found myself on the verge of tears of joy this afternoon.

There is much left to do and at 50, hey I'm just getting started!  I feel brand new today.  

I asked God what He was going to do; meaning what He was going to do about the men's ministry.  What God did was show me that what he was going to do was this:

Restore to me the years the locusts ate.