The God Who Redeems Time (Joel 2:25)
You’ve probably had seasons in your life when you felt like time slipped through your fingers — years that went by in confusion, grief, poor choices, or plain drift. In those moments, it can feel like you’ve lost something you’ll never get back. But the heart of the good news is this: The God Who Redeems Time is not limited by your calendar or your regrets. He speaks into your past, your present, and your future with a promise to restore and to bring meaning where it once felt lost. That promise pulses through the prophetic proclamation in Joel: “I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten” (Joel 2:25). In this article, you’ll explore what that promise means, how it has worked through the Bible, and how it can begin to work in your life today.
Understanding Joel 2:25
When you read Joel 2:25 in its context, you find a prophet speaking to a people who had experienced devastation — locusts had stripped the land, crops were gone, and hope seemed absent. Joel’s message begins with a call to repentance and mourning, but it does not end in despair. Instead, God promises restoration: not simply a return to what was, but a reclamation of lost seasons, a reversal that speaks to God’s power to redeem broken time.
This is important for you to hear: God’s restoration is both honest about loss and confident about renewal. He doesn’t pretend the locusts never came. He acknowledges the devastation and then promises to repair it. That theological posture — truth about brokenness followed by utter trust in God’s restorative power — is the heartbeat of the message you’re reading now.
What “Redeems Time” Really Means
When the Bible talks about redeeming, it uses a word that carries commercial and relational weight. To redeem is to buy back, to reclaim, or to restore value that had been lost or stolen. So when you hear the phrase The God Who Redeems Time, understand it this way: God can take seasons you think are worthless — wasted years, regrets, missed opportunities — and turn them into something of eternal value.
That doesn’t always mean you’ll get the same job, the same relationship, or the same circumstances. What God promises is restoration of purpose and fruitfulness. He can take ashes — the things you count as worthless — and give you beauty instead. That promise echoes through passages like Isaiah’s hope for “beauty for ashes” (Isaiah 61:3) and is rooted in God’s character as one who brings life from death.
The Context Matters: Joel’s Call to Repentance
Joel’s promise comes after an urgent call to return to God. The sequence is important for you: restoration follows repentance. God invites His people to a heartfelt turning — not simply outward religious acts, but an inward change of mind and heart. When you approach the God Who Redeems Time, your genuine turning toward Him opens the way for renewal.
The Bible consistently links repentance with restoration. When the people of Nineveh repented, God relented (Jonah 3:5-10). When individuals like David returned to God, restoration followed (see Psalm 51). This pattern comforts you because it shows God’s willingness to meet you in your brokenness and to begin the work of redemption when you honestly turn to Him.
Biblical Examples of Redeemed Time
You need examples — stories that show what redemption of time looks like in real lives. The Bible is full of them.
- Joseph: Betrayed, sold into slavery, falsely imprisoned — Joseph experienced years that must have felt wasted. Yet God turned those losses into a saving plan for many. Joseph declared to his brothers, “You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good” (Genesis 50:20). You can trust that God can do the same with your story.
- Job: After unimaginable loss and suffering, Job’s fortunes were restored. The text tells you that God restored his fortunes and gave him twice as much as he had before (Job 42:10). Job’s life teaches you patience and faith in the God Who Redeems Time.
- The Prodigal Son: In Luke’s parable, a young man squanders his inheritance and hits rock bottom. But when he comes to himself and returns, his father runs to welcome him and restores him to full sonship (Luke 15:11-32). Your return to God can trigger similar restoration in relationships and identity.
- Paul: Once a persecutor of the church, Paul’s life was transformed after an encounter with Christ on the road to Damascus. That dramatic conversion reoriented his past and commissioned him for a future of gospel ministry (Acts 9:1-22). Your past mistakes don’t disqualify you from God’s purposes.
Each of these stories points to a central truth: God can redeem lost seasons and weave them into a larger narrative of grace. When you feel time has been wasted, remember these accounts as theological proof that redemption is not only possible but common in the economy of God.
Why You Might Feel Time Has Been Wasted
You’re not alone if you think, “I’ve wasted years.” People feel that way for many reasons: unwise choices, addictions, grief, missed opportunities, chronic illness, family dysfunction, or seasons of spiritual dryness. Sometimes external circumstances like economic collapse, war, or pandemic steal seasons of your life. Other times, your own decisions have led to consequences that feel irreversible.
The first step is to give words to that pain. Labeling your loss — whether it’s regret, grief, or guilt — is important. It helps you move from a fog of despair into a place where healing and repentance can begin. God does not minimize your pain, but He offers to redeem it. The biblical narrative never promises that the path will be painless, but it does promise that no time lost to sin or suffering is beyond God’s restoring touch when you come to Him.
How God Redeems Time in Your Life
You might wonder how, practically, God redeems time. Here are ways you’ll see God work as you engage with Him:
- Repentance and confession open the door. The Bible invites you to turn away from patterns that rob you of life and to turn toward God (Acts 3:19). That honest turning is the soil in which restoration grows.
- Surrendering your timeline to God frees you from the tyranny of “what could have been.” When you give your life to Christ, you step into His purposes, and He begins to work even in seasons when you cannot repair yourself.
- God re-purposes your pain. Instead of erasing the past, God often uses it to shape you into someone who can minister grace and empathy to others. Your scars become a platform for compassion.
- Community and wise counsel accelerate restoration. You weren’t meant to heal alone. Spiritual friends, pastoral oversight, and therapy can be instruments God uses to redeem lost time and rebuild your life.
- Action and stewardship matter. Redemption often requires tangible steps: mending relationships, learning new skills, or saying “no” to old patterns. The gospel transforms your motives, but it also calls you to obedience.
This combination of spiritual turning and practical action is how The God Who Redeems Time typically works in people’s lives.
Healing Memories and Rewriting Your Story
Your memory can be a thief or a bridge. If you let it replay only your regrets, it will steal your hope. But if you allow God to enter your memories, He can rewrite their meaning. The act of forgiveness — both receiving God’s forgiveness and offering it to others — is central to this healing.
Isaiah promises “a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair” and “beauty for ashes” (Isaiah 61:3). That’s not a denial of pain; it’s a divine transformation of its meaning. When you let God interpret your past, you discover that He sees your suffering in light of redemption. You begin to tell a different story: one where loss becomes a testimony, failure becomes a lesson, and brokenness becomes the birthplace of ministry.
Practical Spiritual Disciplines That Help Redeem Time
Faith without action is often shallow. To partner with the God Who Redeems Time, you’ll find these spiritual disciplines helpful:
- Daily prayer: Talk honestly with God about your regrets and hopes. Lay them before Him and ask for the strength to move forward (see Philippians 4:6: Philippians 4:6).
- Scripture reading: Immerse yourself in promises that reframe your past, like Psalm 30’s testimony of God turning mourning into dancing (Psalm 30:11). Scripture renews your mind and reorders your priorities.
- Sabbath rest: Learning to rest is part of stewarding your time. The rhythm of work and rest teaches you to trust God with your schedule.
- Worship: Praising God in the middle of pain reminds you that He is greater than your losses.
- Service: Volunteering your time and talents can be a powerful way God repurposes your experience and gives you meaning.
These disciplines are not legalistic checklists. They are lifelines that attach you to the One who can redeem what was lost.
Redeeming Time in Relationships
Many of your regrets are relational: words you can’t take back, doors left unopened, apologies withheld. The path to restoration often runs through reconciliation. Scripture invites you to seek peace with others when possible and to confess where you have harmed (Matthew 5:23-24).
When reconciliation isn’t immediately possible, God can still redeem that lost relational time by softening your heart, teaching you patience, and preparing future opportunities. He can also give you grace to heal despite ongoing relational brokenness, enabling you to live fruitfully in other areas. The God Who Redeems Time is not constrained by human refusals; He can work in ways you cannot yet see.
Redeeming Time in Your Work and Calling
You may feel your vocational years were wasted — a job you left, a degree you never finished, or time in a career that didn’t fulfill you. God can redeem that time by reorienting you toward new callings or by taking the skills you gained and applying them in unexpected ways. Remember Joseph: his training as an administrator, gained through hardship, equipped him for leadership that saved nations (Genesis 41).
Redemption often means re-skilling, networking with humility, and taking small courageous steps toward what God is calling you to now. It’s not always swift, but it is faithful. Trust that God can give you a new vocational chapter that not only uses your past experience but gives it new meaning.
When Restoration Looks Different Than You Imagined
You might expect God to give you back exactly what was lost. But often His restoration wears a different face — sometimes better, sometimes simply clearer. Romans reassures you that God works for your good even in his mysterious ways (Romans 8:28). What you thought was wasted may have prepared you for a calling you could not have received otherwise.
This can be hard, because you long for the familiar. But God’s best aims at maturity and fruitfulness, not nostalgia. The restored years might include new relationships, new ministries, or new freedom from old patterns. You may not get back everything, but you can get back meaning, purpose, and fruit.
Stories of Hope: Real-Life Restoration
Let me tell you a few brief, composite stories to encourage you. They are representative of many testimonies where God redeemed time.
- A woman in her fifties thought her best years were behind her after a painful divorce and years out of the workforce. She started volunteering at her church, rebuilt friendships, took a few classes, and eventually found part-time work using skills she had set aside. What she thought was wasted became a season of preparation that launched a new, meaningful second career.
- A man battled addiction for a decade. After a sincere confession and a supportive recovery community, he found work helping others with similar struggles. His painful past became the basis for ministry, proving that God often repurposes pain for good.
- A young adult who had walked away from faith returned after a season of sightseeing and emptiness. They didn’t get everything back the way it was, but they regained identity and mission in unexpected ways.
These are the kinds of transformations that embody The God Who Redeems Time. Your story could be next.
Practical Steps You Can Take Today
You can begin the work of redemption right now. Start small and be consistent:
- Give God your regrets. Pray honestly and ask for His help.
- Confess where necessary and seek forgiveness from those you’ve harmed.
- Make a realistic plan for one small step forward — a class, a conversation, a therapy appointment, or a reconciliation attempt.
- Find a community to support you — a small group, mentor, or counselor.
- Serve someone else. Nothing repurposes pain like gospel-centered service.
Each of these steps invites the God Who Redeems Time into practical movement in your life.
Promises to Hold On To
You’ll want to keep these scriptures close to your heart as you walk toward renewal:
- Joel 2:25 — “I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten” (Joel 2:25).
- Isaiah 61:3 — God gives “beauty for ashes” (Isaiah 61:3).
- Psalm 30:5 — “Weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning” (Psalm 30:5).
- Job 42:10 — “The Lord restored the fortunes of Job” (Job 42:10).
- Romans 8:28 — God works for the good of those who love Him (Romans 8:28).
- 2 Corinthians 5:17 — “If anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come” (2 Corinthians 5:17).
- Luke 15 — The gospel pattern of repentance and restoration (Luke 15:11-32).
Clinging to these promises anchors you when your emotions and circumstances feel unstable.
The Gospel and Redeemed Time
At the center of The God Who Redeems Time is the gospel: the good news of Jesus Christ. When you come to Christ, you don’t simply get a moral overhaul; you are invited into a restored identity. The cross and resurrection are the supreme demonstrations of God’s power to redeem the worst of human history and to bring new life from apparent defeat. In Christ, your past is not erased but is incorporated into a larger redemptive story that God is writing.
You’re invited to trust not in your own ability to reassemble your life but in Christ’s power to transform it. If you haven’t yet surrendered to Him, consider today the day to turn to Him in repentance and faith. When you do, you begin to participate in the restoration He promises.
When You Feel Hope Is Too Small
It’s okay if hope in you is small right now. Faith often begins as a mustard seed. The biblical pattern is to take that small trust and place it into the hands of a faithful God. He doesn’t need your fully formed confidence; He needs your willingness to come.
If hope feels scarce, anchor yourself in prayer, in Scripture, and in community. Ask a friend to pray with you. Seek counsel. Start with tiny steps — read a psalm, visit a small group, volunteer. God meets small acts of obedience with big work.
A Gentle Exhortation
If there’s one word I want you to hear, it’s this: come. Come to the God Who Redeems Time with your broken calendars, your stained memories, and your tired heart. He invites the lost, the wasted, and the weary to a restoration that surprises human imagination. Don’t let shame keep you from His mercy. The God who forgives calls you to the freedom of a restored life.
Return to Him in prayer, in confession, and in humble trust. He will not only receive you; He will reweave your life into something beautiful.
Closing Encouragement
You may not know today how God will restore what you’ve lost, but you can know one sure thing: He is able. He is ready to transform your past into a testimony for His glory. The God Who Redeems Time is not content to leave you in the ruins; He desires to resurrect your purpose and bring fruit out of what you assumed was wasted.
Trust Him with your timeline. Walk with Him in daily obedience, surround yourself with faithful community, and let the Scriptures reshape your expectations. Like the ancient prophecy of Joel, God’s promise is both specific and personal: He will restore the years. Believe it, and begin to live toward that promise today.
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