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From Ruin to Repentance to Restoration "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." (Joel 2:25)The 2nd chapter of Joel gives us a powerful depiction of God's rule. It blends together themes of judgment, repentance, restoration, and blessing. While it reminds us of the severity of God's judgment, it ultimately points to His mercy and His faithfulness to forgive. It reassures us that regardless of how dire the circumstances of life may be, sincere repentance leads to restoration, and a promise of better tomorrows with the blessings of God's grace.Now as you consider your own relationship with the Lord, do to you have chapters in your life that you wish you could rewrite? Do you have regrets or sorrows or wounds from the past? Well, the promise of God is that He not only forgives the repentant sinner, He also heals the repentant sinner.Folks, it's true that many people suffer life-long problems because of sinful choices in days gone by, yet the Lord is able to save them and forgive their past guilt, greed, and godlessness.Remember that ole thief on the cross? Now there was a real nasty fella we meet in the Bible who had squandered all his life on meanness, mischief, mugging, and mistreating people. Yet, God aroused him and got a hold of his heart in the waning moments of his life, brought him to repentance and faith in Christ, and then by grace, used those fleeting few minutes he had left to leave behind for you and I an everlasting testimony of God’s ability to save, forgive, and the guarantee of Heaven with Jesus.God says, “And I will restore to you the years...” How can that be? Will He reverse our life’s clock? Will He turn back our calendar? No, but when we have been born again, God is able to pack so much living and so many benefits into the remaining years He gives us. The Holy Spirit will indeed empower and enable us to live a life of victory every day we sojourn here on earth.Friends, no matter how the many chapters of a ruined life have been written thus far, know this: when one repents, turns to Jesus Christ and trusts Him for salvation, and cast their soul's eternal destiny upon Him, He is able to multiply the remaining years of that life and use them mightily for His glory. For you see, He not only can save a sinner, He can also restore the ruined.