I Will Restore

“They Devour” photo by madcowk on Flickr.

By Lisa Nordell-Detres

One of the things I have always been grateful for is that as a gardener, my family and I have never had to depend upon whatever the garden produced each year. We would not last very long if we did. One can never be sure what will happen during the year and even one day of bad weather can destroy an entire harvest. I have never personally witnessed the kind of pestilence that is described as locusts in the Bible, but Joel 1:4 describes the utter devastation caused by one such invasion:

What the chewing locust left, the swarming locust has eaten;
What the swarming locust left, the crawling locust has eaten;
And what the crawling locust left, the consuming locust has eaten. (NKJV)

The passage goes on to explain that this pestilence was sent by God as a punishment for the unfaithful behavior of the people. The prophet goes on to warn the people of Israel that an army (possibly Babylonian) is on the way to conquer what was left of the nation. Joel pleads with the people in 2:12-13:

“Now, therefore,” says the LORD,
“Turn to Me with all your heart,
With fasting, with weeping, and with mourning.”
So rend your heart, and not your garments;
Return to the LORD your God,
For He is gracious and merciful,
Slow to anger, and of great kindness;
And He relents from doing harm. (NKJV)

As a reward for turning back to Him, God promises in verse 25 to restore what was lost:

“So I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten,
The crawling locust,
The consuming locust,
And the chewing locust,
My great army which I sent among you.” (NKJV)

I have claimed that verse several times in my life when relationships had been broken and you know what? God did restore them and made them even better than ever! Just like He restored all that Job lost during his test, God has a way of making things so much better than we could have ever dreamed. The key is in our repentance; however, because no matter how good we think we are, we would stand condemned in the presence of Almighty God, completely at His mercy without the sacrifice of Jesus.

Whatever loss you are grieving in your heart right now, write down Joel 2:25 and commit it to memory. Make this your daily prayer, asking God to take the devastation in your life and restore it to you in His perfect, marvelous way and in His perfect timing. Then relax, wait patiently and watch the miracles unfold before your very eyes!

Lisa Nordell-Detres is a mother of four, grandma to three boys, a pastor’s wife and has worked in the garment and customer service industries in southern California. Besides writing, Lisa enjoys cooking, sewing, organic gardening, hiking, skiing and doing most anything outside. Lisa is a member of the Central Oregon Writers Guild.

Lisa was born and raised in Denver, Colorado, studied Christian Apologetics at Simon Greenleaf University, holds a Bachelor’s of Science in Fashion Design from Woodbury University and an MBA from California State University at Northridge. Lisa, her husband and their youngest child now live in central Oregon. 

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Isaiah 40

Photo by Carl Chapman on Flickr.

By Lisa Nordell-Detres

“Comfort ye, comfort ye, my people, saith your God.” (Isaiah 40:1, KJV)

As soon as I read this line, the song from Handel’s Messiah started playing in my head and continued as I read through the chapter. What a beautiful song of hope for the future written by the prophet Isaiah during a time of moral decay in the nation of Israel. The chapter starts out with Messianic prophecies, then turns to expound on the greatness of God:

“Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand,
or with the breadth of his hand marked off the heavens?
Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket,
or weighed the mountains on the scales
and the hills in a balance?” (Is. 40:12, NIV)

For those of you who may think the earth is flat, the prophet clarified this in verse 22, some 800 years before Christ:

“He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth…”

The chapter ends with a promise and encouragement for the faithful:

“Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
The LORD is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
and his understanding no one can fathom.
He gives strength to the weary
and increases the power of the weak.
Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall;
but those who hope in the LORD
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.” (Isaiah 40:28-31, NIV)

I encourage you today to play your Christmas CD with Handel’s Messiah or find it online (here’s a You Tube link), pull out your Bible and take the next half hour to refresh yourself in the majesty of Isaiah 40!

Lisa Nordell-Detres is a mother of four, grandma to two boys with a third on the way (!), a pastor’s wife and has worked in the garment and customer service industries in southern California. Besides writing, Lisa enjoys cooking, sewing, organic gardening, hiking, skiing and doing most anything outside.

Lisa was born and raised in Denver, Colorado, studied Christian Apologetics at Simon Greenleaf University, holds a Bachelor’s of Science in Fashion Design from Woodbury University and an MBA from California State University at Northridge. Lisa, her husband and their youngest child now live in central Oregon.

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Do Not Be Afraid: It’s a Commandment!

By Lisa Nordell-Detres

There are few places we can look these days where somebody is not trying to prey on our fears. News about the crime rates, economy, the weather and even what might visit or hit earth from outer space all have the potential to send us running for the hills. If we spend just a little time entertaining the potential scary situations that could befall us in this life, we will find ourselves in a constant state of alert. That is not a healthy place to live, either physically with the adrenaline pulsing through our system, emotionally if we are neither fighting nor running from the source of fear, and especially spiritually, since we are not  trusting in God.

The apostle John (John 16:33) records Jesus comforting His followers in the hours before He was to be crucified. Jesus assured his followers, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (NIV) Over and over again in the Bible, we are commanded not to be afraid. Why should we not be alarmed when there are so many dreadful things and people out there? Isn’t it just natural to be afraid? Perhaps, but if we truly place our lives in the hands of Jesus, the one who has overcome the world, what is there to fear? God promises over and over again that He will be with us, will take care of us and never leave us. Psalm 121 is a great example of this promise.

To continue to fear, knowing that the Creator of the Universe is watching over us is to say that we do not think God is powerful enough to take care of us and that we need to take matters into our own hands. That is rebellion against God and will make us vulnerable to all the things which cause us to panic. On the other hand, if we trust in God, we will have peace no matter what is going on in the world.

Live in peace or live in panic, the choice is yours today. Peace to you!

Lisa Nordell-Detres is a mother of four, grandma to two boys, a pastor’s wife and has worked in the garment and customer service industries in southern California. Besides writing, Lisa enjoys cooking, sewing, organic gardening, hiking, skiing and doing most anything outside.

Lisa was born and raised in Denver, Colorado, holds a Bachelor’s of Science in Fashion Design from Woodbury University and an MBA from California State University at Northridge. Lisa, her husband and their youngest child now live in central Oregon.