我的心猛地一沉，腦中一片混亂。一位朋友幫我安裝電腦軟體時，不小心刪除了我剛轉存的所有照片和影片，我與家人、朋友多年的珍貴回憶瞬間消失。我開始發慌，因為我再也看不到過去那些假期、旅行和特殊時刻的珍貴畫面了。在多愁善感的我快要崩潰之前，朋友說他應該可以把檔案救回來。感謝上帝，經過數小時煎熬的等待，當我看到那些珍貴的影像檔案失而復得，實在讓我欣喜若狂！

我只是焦急地等待了幾個小時，但那種擔心害怕的感覺確實不好受。「失去」會帶來恐懼和悲傷。約珥書2章記載，大批蝗蟲壓境摧毀農作物、葡萄園、庭院和樹木之後，先知呼籲猶大百姓悔改。先知曾警告他們，因他們悖逆上帝，那可怕的後果即將臨到！但上帝並未拋棄他們，若他們願意信靠祂，祂將幫助他們，使他們失而復得：「蝗蟲⋯⋯那些年所吃的，我要補還你們。」（25節）

當猶大百姓回轉歸向上帝，上帝就重建他們，恢復他們所失去的。如今，上帝也渴望重建你的生命。

無論你正處於哪一種境況，你都可以向上帝求助並信靠祂，因祂是「耶和華－你們的上帝，在[祂]以外並無別神」（27節）。上帝是信實的，祂能幫助你失而復得，並與祂建立親密的關係。

My heart sank. My mind started to swirl. A friend who’d been helping set up my new laptop accidentally deleted all the photos and videos I’d transferred to it. Years of precious memories with family and friends were all gone in an instant. Panic set in.  I’d never be able to recreate those cherished moments from past holidays, travels, and special occasions. Before sentimental me could have a complete meltdown, my friend said he was hopeful he could recover my files. Thankfully, a few agonizing hours later I was overjoyed to see my special media files reappear.

I waited anxiously for only a few hours, but the fear was real. Loss can be scary and painful. In Joel 2, the prophet called the people of Judah to repentance after devastation by a horde of locusts that destroyed the grain fields, vineyards, gardens, and trees. The prophet had warned the people of the impending consequences of their rebellion against God. But God hadn’t abandoned them. He would help and bring restoration if they placed their trust in God: “I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten” (2:25).

God restored Judah when they turned to Him. God wants to restore you as well.

Whatever circumstances you’re in, you can turn to God and trust Him—knowing that He’s “the Lord your God, and that there is no other” (v. 27). He is faithful to help you recover from what was lost and bring you into a relationship with Him.