Louie Giglio - Restoring What's Been Lost In A Global Crisis
This message was inspired in a way by watching an interview, I saw recently of a middle schooler, who was talking about his experience through the pandemic. He was sitting next to his mom who had divorced her husband. So, he had divorce in his home, his family fell apart, cut off from his friends and socialization through school. And he talked about how going into 2020, he considered himself a normal middle school student, and just the sweetest kid. How he went from being a normal middle school kid, to being a very anxious middle school kid, to being a very depressed middle school kid, to being a suicidal middle school kid.
And when I heard his story, my heart just leapt for him, and I thought about the prophet Joel, and how in calamity and distress, the prophet Joel speaks on behalf of God a promise. And the promise is this, and we'll see it in a moment, it's the Lord saying, "I will give back the years that the locust have eaten". And I didn't know this person, I don't know them, don't have a way to contact them, but I just spoke to the TV right in that moment, and I said, "God is greater than what you have lost. God can give back the years that the locust have eaten".
It is not hype, it is not some kind of sermon, it is the truth of who God is, and I just wanted to proclaim that over this young man. And I just wanna proclaim it over him today. Don't know him, but I wanna speak it over him, and I wanna speak it over me, and I wanna speak it over you, and I wanna speak it over anyone who needs to know that yes, there has been loss, but God is a god who restores. And in Joel, I'm telling you, it was rough. Joel's prophecy opens like this: "The word of the Lord that came to Joel son of Pethuel," is this, "Hear this, you elders; listen, all who live in the land. Has anything like this ever happened in your days or in the days of your forefathers? Tell it to your children, and let your children tell it to their children, and their children to the next generation".
In other words, what's happening in this moment is so catastrophic, that it is gonna leave a mark for generations. And here's what the word is, "What the locust swarm has left the great locusts have eaten, what the great locusts have left the young locusts have eaten; what the young locusts have left the other locusts have eaten". And like, how many locusts do we need? In the Hebrew text, each of these locusts is a different Hebrew word. And so, that's why you get the descriptions of all the different locusts. First one is the, "Gnawing Locust". Does anybody know that one that came in pandemic? And it just gnaws away.
The second one that came because a little bit was left, were the, "Swarming Locust" who just came in like a tornado. And after the swarming locust, was the "Creeping Locust". The one who's just always there, just always there, just always there. You think, "Okay, I took a step". But no, there's locust again. "We made a move". No, there's the locust again. They're just creeping on in to get what's left by the gnawing and swarming locust. But the creeping locust left a little bit, and so, the "Consuming Locust" came, and they just stripped the land. He said, "This is what's gonna be passed down from generation to generation".
But there is hope, because this book ends with God's promise that he repays for the years that the locust had eaten. We've been trying to get people to come back to church. God's trying to get people to comeback to God. I'd be happy if they came to church also. But you could make it back to church, and not fully make it back to God, and your hope is in God. What happens after the return is staggering a few verses down in verse 23. God is moving and God is restoring, he says, "Be glad, O people of Zion, rejoice in the Lord your God, for he has given you the autumn rains in righteousness. He sends you abundant showers, both autumn and spring rains, as before. The threshing floors will be filled with grain; the vats will overflow with new wine and oil".
So, maybe we're not threshing floor full today, and maybe the vats aren't full of new wine just quite yet, but they're gonna be. I'm not saying this, the Lord is saying this. The Lord is moving, and the Lord is meeting his people. And in verse 25, "I will repay you for the years," not the days, not the weeks, not the months, but, "I will repay you for the years the locust have eaten. The great locust and the young locust, the other locusts and the locust swarm my great army that I sent among you. You will have plenty to eat, until you are full, and you will praise the name of the Lord your God, who has worked wonders for you and never again will my people be shamed. And then, you will know that I am in Israel, that I am the Lord your God, and that there is no other". Amen?
"Never again will my people be shamed". What a promise of God. So, how does that happen? How does restoration begin? I wanna give you a few simple things. You could write these down. I'm gonna have to go quickly. Number one, "To get to restoration, you have to admit what has been lost". You have to admit what's been lost. You cannot just cross over, you cannot just move on, you cannot just say "That was then, and this is now, and I don't wanna deal with it anymore".
We have to admit that there has been death, that loved ones have been lost, that businesses have suffered, others maybe boomed, but some shuttered. We have to admit that dreams died, that opportunity was lost, that relationships have been fractured, and we have to come face to face with it. I know everybody has got their own version of what numbers are what numbers, and what numbers you can trust, and what numbers are real, but 6.9 million people, in the main count in America died. It could've been more, it could've been less. I don't know. I'm sure somebody wants to get right in on that and do all that work really fast. But it's a big number, and it's a lot of people.
And not only did loved ones die, but a lot of things died, and we have to admit what's been lost. We can't just say, "Oh, praise God, he's gonna restore. He gives back what the locust have eaten. I'm just gonna believe that and move on with my life". No, we've gotta come face to face with loss. And a lot of times we see that as a lack of faith, but it's not a lack of faith, it's just dealing with what is real. When Jesus showed up in John 11, and Bethany and Lazarus had died, he found his family and his friends mourning. And so, what did Jesus do? Go, "Hey, everybody, it's all cool". No, he saw them mourning, and then he wept.
The second thing we have to do is, "Identify the marks that are left behind". You say, "Why do I wanna do that? I don't need to go there". No, we do need to go there, because we can't let God heal things that we don't understand need healing. And so, we have to identify the marks, and here would be a few: Uncertainty is a mark that is on a lot of your lives today. Trauma that is on our lives, there's so many layers of it and I don't need to go there for us. You have a loved one that dies, and you can't be there with them, that leaves a mark. Self protecting, I think is a mark that is on a lot of us, and it is not the way of Jesus by the way.
Say, "Well, self protecting, why wouldn't I wanna be that way? Cause, hey this economy, and the pandemic, and all the stuff we went through on top of that, and elections, we have another one coming, I'm just gonna put a wall around me and build it up as high as I can". That is not the way of Jesus, and that mark needs to be identified in us. Polarization, greed, I don't know, you know. I mean, I was just a weird thing watching people, and I'm not knocking it, cause I felt the same way. But I mean, I would guess there's people in this gallery right now that's still got a good amount of toilet paper in their basement right now.
And there's probably been a tendency, was you were going down the isle on a regular Thursday when you really had plenty of toilet paper, and you said, "Wow, there's a lot of paper towels right there. And we don't really need paper towels, but it says 'Bounty' right on the front and I believe in bounty right now, so, I'm just gonna put a couple more in there. Put those down in the basement, or in the garage with the other paper towels we got in there". And I'm not saying that's bad at all, but I will say this, I have not talked to one person who came through Covid, not one, and I'm sure they're out there, and I'm not knocking you, and please, I'm not belittling your cause, but I don't know any people, and I haven't talked to any people who've talked to any people, who are talking to their therapist right now and saying, "I'm telling you, we didn't have the toilet paper and that's why I'm here".
So, fill up your basement with all the toilet paper you can, but in the next cycle, or whatever else is up ahead, it's not about the toilet paper at the end of the day, it's about what happens to our soul. What marks on our soul. And you can have a thousand rolls of toilet paper and still have a big mark left on your soul. And even the toilet paper can show you what's in all of us to start with, which is the tendency to want to hoard things, which is very much anti the spirit of the gospel.
I got to go quick, but the mark of anger, and some of the anger that's in us has festered, and it turned into a root of bitterness. And it's not really hurting the people that you're bitter towards, but it's eating you up. And you have to identify that so you know that that's where Jesus needs to come. Distrust, off the charts, distrust of everyone, numbness, lack of motivation, grief, fear. What mark is on me? And I have to be able to see it, and say it, so that Jesus can touch it, and heal it, so that I can be restored, and get my crops back, and move forward into God's purpose for my life.
The third thing is, "To reconnect with the prince of peace". That's how you move toward restoration. This returning is not a onetime thing, this isn't something you do, "Oh yeah, we did that. We returned to the Lord with all of our heart". No, this is a state of returning. It is a lifestyle of returning. It is reconnecting to the prince of peace and saying and realizing, "I am not a sheep without a shepherd".
Man, there is nothing sadder than a bunch of sheep without a shepherd. They do not know where to go, they are huddled into one big frenzy, they are in one big mob, they are nervous about everything that is going on, they are going this way, and that way, and this way, and this way, they don't have that calm voice, "Wohoo hey, over here. This is the grass, this is where we sleep, this is safety. Everything's gonna be good". There is nothing worse than seeing sheep without a shepherd. But here's the good news, you're not a sheep without a shepherd. And reconnecting to the prince of peace is key to moving toward restoration.
Number four is to, "Decide your gonna move on". You have to make a decision and declaration. Have you done that yet? Do you know what? Yes, it was lost. Yes, it was hard. Yes, there was a wipeout, but guess what? I'm gonna move on with God. I am going to be an overcomer. I am laying down the victim card and I am declaring that I'm gonna be an overcomer. My life story will not be, "Victim to the Pandemic". "Yeah, but let's be real about all the stuff that happened". No, you can be as real as you want, that's number one. That was the first thing. But there comes a time where you say, "You know what? That is real, but here's the deal, I'm gonna overcome".
And you help your kids with that mindset. And if you're listening to this and you're a teenager, then you get that mindset. "Yeah, but all the statistics have said this and that and the other and I'm behind and I'm this and I lost out and..." Hey, get an extra job, work on the weekends, and get a tutor, and say to the world, "Guess what? I'm gonna catch up. Not only am I gonna catch up, I'm gonna get ahead. I am not going to sitting back here in victim land. I am going to trust God. I'm gonna say to God, 'I wanna get ahead, I wanna catch up, I wanna go forward. I want to believe that you repay for the years that the locust have eaten. And I'm not just gonna sit back here and wait for all that to happen. I'm going to activate with you.'"
Number five, I'm gonna, "Build faith to quench fear". Fear is rampant, why? Because everything we read, and everything we look at instills fear except Jesus and this. Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by what? The word of God. So, I have to get a faith plan going. I have to get a word of God plan going. I have to outweigh all of this with this, so that I can build up faith. The anecdote to fear isn't courage, it's faith. And faith doesn't come by going, "I can do it". No. Faith comes by hearing the word of God. Believing that nothing's gonna thwart God's plan for me. Lazarus, going back to John 11, did not get the four adays in the tomb back, and he didn't get the however many days he was really sick back, but he still got a future. There are some things you're not getting back, but you're still gonna get a future.
Number six, we're almost done, "Ask for help". To get moving toward restoration, we have to be able to continually ask for help. If you're one of those people in that high track of thinking about and actually attempting to take your life, get help. 988 is a number you can text or call. And within 90 seconds, which may seem like a long, long time in a moment of crisis, but within 90 seconds to 2 minutes, you're gonna be talking to someone, high percentage of the chance that they're gonna be in the state of Georgia. And not only are they gonna be a professional, but they're gonna understand your pain, and they're gonna be there for you, and they will walk with you. If that's the only step you know how to take, take that step, but lean on people. Jesus said to Lazarus, "Friends, you move the stone". Jesus could've moved it. An angel could've moved it. But he said to the friends, "You move the stone. You unwrap him and let him go free". This is God's plan, it's called, "Community". And if you wanna get into getting restored, you have to ask for help.
Number seven. we're going to ten, so I'm done. "Be grateful". You can read every study in the world, Christian, non- Christian, every psychologist, every psychiatrist, every smart person trying to figure out, how do we get restored and healed? And every one of them will take you to gratitude. I don't know the mystery of it all, but there is something powerful in being thankful for what we have, not just continually replaying the story of what we lost. Van Amburg said, "Gratitude is a currency that we can mint for ourselves and spend without fear of bankruptcy".
Number eight, "Exercise generosity". The tendency right now the pandemic is to be tight. The story of the gospel and where one of our pastors said we're putting covid to sleep is to be open handed. And this is for another part of this collection, but if this is the only message you hear, part of the generosity is the generosity of forgiveness. Doesn't mean you have to agree with them, it doesn't mean you have to follow them, it doesn't mean you have to do it the way they said to do it next time. But the only way you can get free from bitterness is forgiveness.
"But they don't deserve to be forgiven". None of us do. "I'll never forgive them". Well, then you'll always be tied to the past and you will be locked into the pandemic. The way you get out of that cage is through the key of forgiveness, that maybe doesn't do anything for them, but it opens a way for you to say, "You know what? I learned a lot. And if we ever go through there again, I'm gon' do a lot of things different. But here's one thing I'm not gonna do, I'm not going to hold unforgiveness against anyone because I'm in a kingdom where forgiveness has freely been given to me. I want to be generous in every way".
Number nine, I wanna, "Contend for good outcomes". Did you learn anything good from the pandemic? Contend for it, because as soon as you get out, guess what? Bye bye. All those priorities that got reshaped, all that purpose that got refined, all those plans that got reshaped, and all those, now it's like, "Hey, yeah, we're kinda moving again and the pace is picking up, and you know, there's new challenges to face now. I can't worry about those challenges, I got new challenges now".
And all of a sudden, we realize we're back staring at our phones, and we're missing out on connection with our people, and we're losing that sense of stillness where we had time to breathe and look up and remember who God is. I mean, for crying out loud, good things came out of the pandemic too. Amen? The fact that we got people joining us online around the world right now wouldn't have happened without the pandemic, so I'm not really thrilled about the pandemic, but I'm really thrilled that we've been able to touch millions and millions of people around the world. And it was such a good thing that we're still doing it. Thank you very much.
And then, the last thing is, "Wait on the Lord". Just be patient. See, crop replacement takes time, and you may be in this word today going, "He says he's gonna repay the years that the locust have eaten, but I don't see it". Well, he's not gonna drop a big bag on the table, he's gonna replant. Gonna be vats that are full, that means new vines have to be planted, and takes vines time to produce grapes that can make wine. The threshing floor's gonna be filled, but the threshing floor takes a really good crop, which takes preparing of a field, which takes a season, which takes the conditions being right, and the worker working, and the faithful patience of trusting God.
I wanna encourage you today to say to the Lord, "I believe that my story is not gonna be defined by what happened to me in 2020, 2021, and 2022. I believe my story is gonna be defined by my faithful father. And I don't see it all right now, but I have confidence and trust in your promise". "I will repay. I will repay," says the Lord. So, here are the statements. You can take a picture cause there's no way you can write them down.
Number one through ten: "I will take no shame in lamenting my loss". No, I'm not worried about how you're gonna look at me. "What? Are you some kind of weak person that's still going to therapy"? Nah, I'm just lamenting my loss, cause what I lost, I don't wanna just say goodbye to it because we're all moving on. Number two, "I will examine my life". I'm gonna do that. I'm gonna take stock and see what marks ae left on me cause I need to know where Jesus wants to intersect and heal. "I will remain in close communion with my Shepard". "I will not live defeated". "I am a child of faith". I was born in faith. Hello, you know how I got born? Faith. That's how I got saved, faith. I was born too faithful. I was born in faith. I'm a child of faith, I'm not child of fear. I was not born to fear, I was bon in faith. "I will lean on others".
I think it's good to say that. I think it's good for every one of us to say that every day. "Well, Louie, I'm doing pretty good right now. My sector of the economy is actually booming right now. You know, our family has never been better. You know, we moved to a little house out in Podunkville over here, and we've never been happier. We're growing all of our own food, and it's amazing. And we make our own clothes, and life's good and everything's great. All my kids are fantastic, we just had triplets, grandkids, it's awesome. Older son is at Harvard. Life's good".
Great, that's awesome. There's nothing that you need help with? Come on. God put us in community. You know why? Because we all need help. I will freely, "I am grateful for all I have". Just write that over your day. I'm telling you, there's gonna be a lot of talk about what people lost, but you gotta be able to get in there and say, "You know what? That's true. I'm so grateful for all I have". "I will freely give". Of course, I will. "I will seek stillness". Cause I'm gonna contend for the good outcomes of this pandemic, and one of them was a slow down. It was good.
So, I will seek stillness, but imma seek stillness, not for the sake of stillness. I'm gonna seek stillness for the sake of strength. And lastly, "I will wait on the Lord". Can I just tell you? Middle school, young guy, often cutest kid, been through such a hard time. Man, I hope this word makes it to you, cause all of the "I'm sorry's" they were real, and you needed them. All the hugs, they were real and you needed them. All the, "We made it," they were real, and you needed them. But I'm telling you, what you need more than anything my friend is to know that there is a God in heaven who put you on this Earth.
You did not just happen to show up on planet Earth. You are here by divine design, you are here as the handy work of almighty God. And he knows about hard times and wipeouts. He went through one himself. Jesus himself went through the greatest wipeout of all wipeouts. But I'm telling you, the stone was rolled way, he came out of the grave and out of that tomb. And yes, he lost three days of his life down in the depths of the Earth, but what he got when he came out of that grave was so far greater than everything he gave for you and me.
And I'm telling you, your story is not going to be defined by what happened to you, your story's gonna be defined by the God who is for you. And yes, there is loss, and everyone's heart would break for that, but I'm telling you, God is still in the story. He's still in your story. And you can catch up and reconnect, and make new friends, and be a friend, and be generous with your life for all people like you who lost a lot of their life.
And you can go to high school and be a leader in your high school. You can go to high school and crush high school. You can do whatever you wanna do, and you can fulfill God's purpose and plan for your life. You can be the man that God has created you to be, and do all the things that God has created you to do, so at the end of your life, you stand before your maker, and you say to him not, "Man, I wish," but, you say, "Thank you, God, Thank you, God, that you restored and that you give back. You give back. You give back what the years have stolen".