Have you ever felt too far gone? Like you’ve made too many mistakes, hurt too many people, or wasted too much time to ever be made whole again? I have. We all have at some point. But the beautiful thing about restoration is that it’s never too late. In fact, that’s the point.
In the book of Joel, God promises to “repay you for the years that the swarming locust ate, the young locust, the destroying locust, and the devouring locust” (Joel 2:25). He says this after a time of judgment when the Israelites were hungry and thirsty and turning back to God in repentance. He promises not only to forgive them but to restore what was lost.
That’s the thing about God. He’s not just about taking the losses of your life and forgiving you for them. He’s about restoration. He gives back the years the locusts ate. He restores what was lost and makes it better than it was before. And this isn’t just for spiritual things, though He promises to fill our lives with the knowledge of God so we’ll never be thirsty again (Joel 2:28). This is for all areas of life—marriages, family relationships, personal growth, spiritual vitality, career paths, health, and financial stability.
Restoration is not just for a select few either. In fact, if anything, the opposite is true. In Joel 2: 28-32, He goes on to prophesy a day when God would pour out His Spirit on all people. And this is exactly what happened on the day of Pentecost recorded in Acts 2. The Spirit of God came on all kinds of people from all over the world. It didn’t matter if you were young or old, male or female, married or single, wealthy or poor, slave or free. If you were there, God included you in His plan.
This is one of those passages that challenges our thinking about who is “reachable” or who is “redeemable.” The truth is that no one is too far gone for God to work a miracle of transformation in their lives. From the death row inmate to the drug addict to the atheist, God’s offer of restoration stands.
But what does this restoration look like? For some, it may be reconciliation in broken relationships. For others, it may be finding new purpose and joy after a season of darkness. Restoration could mean healing from past hurts, breaking free from old patterns of sin and addiction, or discovering a new sense of identity and worth in Christ.
The process of restoration will often take time and effort. It’s not always easy or quick. In many ways, it’s like restoring an old car. You have to sand down the rough edges, fill in the holes and blemishes, and sometimes even strip off several layers of paint before you can get to the good stuff underneath. But the end result is always worth it.
God has promised restoration, and He will never go back on that promise. But He won’t force it on us either. We have to be willing to receive it and to do our part in the process. This is where becoming an agent of restoration comes in.
As people who have been forgiven and restored by God, we are called to be agents of restoration in the world around us. This could look like extending forgiveness to others, giving people second chances, or being willing to get our hands dirty in the messy work of reconciliation with those who have wronged us.
Becoming an agent of restoration also means living unashamed of our faith in a world that often marginalizes or ridicules religious people. In a culture that often tells us to keep our faith to ourselves or to quietly practice it behind closed doors, we are called to boldly and with humility share the transformative power of Christ with others. As Paul says in Romans 1: 16, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes.”
Living unashamedly is also a part of being an agent of restoration. It means being willing to share our stories of how God has restored us with others and inviting them into the family of God. It also means being willing to stand firm in our convictions, even when it’s uncomfortable or costly to do so.
Our workplaces, neighborhoods, and social circles are mission fields where God wants to bring His restoring touch through us. But in order to do that, we have to see them as such. We have to be willing to look for the opportunities to be agents of restoration and to step into those opportunities when they present themselves.
As we receive God’s offer of restoration for our own lives and become agents of restoration in the lives of others, we join the grand narrative of redemption that God is weaving in the world. We become living testimonies to the truth that no one is beyond hope, that it’s never too late to start again, and that God’s love can truly make all things new.
So wherever you are today, know that restoration is available. If you are standing in need of God’s restoring touch, know that He’s waiting with open arms to pour out His Spirit on you. But if you’re in a place where you can offer that touch to others, step into that opportunity today. It’s never too late to start again, to heal, to forgive, to dream, and to become all that God has created you to be.
Let’s pray that God would give us eyes to see the opportunities for restoration around us, that He would give us the courage to step into those opportunities, and that He would keep our hearts open to His transforming work in and through us. May we live as people of hope, confident in the God who specializes in restoration, and may our lives be lights of that hope to a world that desperately needs renewal.
Thoughts from Pastor Toney 