Nothing That Is Taken Will Be Left Unrepaid

There is a grief that runs deep when something is taken from you. Loss, in its many forms, leaves a hollow place behind—a wound that throbs with the ache of absence. It feels like a theft, a robbery of what was rightfully yours: your time, your dreams, your peace, your relationships, your opportunities, your innocence. The world keeps moving, but you are left staring at the empty space where something used to be, wondering if you will ever feel whole again.

But the God we serve is not one to leave things undone. He is a God of justice, a God of restoration. And in His Kingdom, nothing that is taken will be left unrepaid.

In Joel 2:25, the Lord declares to Israel, “I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten.” The locusts had devoured their harvest, leaving behind nothing but barren fields and empty hands. This is what loss feels like—destruction that consumes everything in its path. But God, with His voice like a promise etched in stone, speaks restoration. He does not simply replace what was lost; He restores.

Restoration is not about receiving back the exact thing you lost. It is not a mere exchange, a one-for-one transaction. No, when God restores, He does so in a way that far exceeds what was taken. What is returned carries the fingerprints of Heaven, touched by His redemptive power, pressed down, shaken together, and running over (Luke 6:38).

When you think of repayment, it is natural to measure it in human terms: to look for compensation that matches the value of what was taken. But God’s economy does not function like ours. His repayment is never about breaking even; it is about bringing forth abundance from the barren ground.

Think of Joseph, the dreamer whose life was stripped away piece by piece. His brothers betrayed him and sold him into slavery. He was taken to a foreign land, accused falsely, thrown into prison, and forgotten. Years of his life were stolen—years he could never get back. And yet, when God restored Joseph, the repayment was not small. The pain of betrayal was eclipsed by purpose. The years in prison became a training ground for leadership. The pit became a passage to the palace. God repaid Joseph not with mere compensation but with a destiny that saved nations.

God does not take lightly what has been stolen from you. Every tear, every loss, every unfair blow has been seen and accounted for. He holds the scales of justice in His hands, and He declares with authority: “I will restore.”

When the enemy comes to steal, kill, and destroy, it is easy to believe that what is taken is lost forever. The locusts devour, and it feels as though the harvest will never return. But here is the truth: the enemy cannot take anything that God cannot repay. Your time is not lost to Him. Your hope is not beyond His reach. Your brokenness is not too shattered for Him to restore.

"Nothing that is taken will be left unrepaid.”

It is a declaration, a promise sealed by the very nature of God. He is just—perfectly, unfailingly just. This is not human justice, which often falls short or comes too late. No, this is divine justice, which brings not just reparation but redemption.

Consider Job, a man who lost everything. His possessions, his children, his health—all stripped away in what seemed like an instant. But God, in His faithfulness, restored Job’s life. The scripture tells us that “the Lord restored his fortunes and gave him twice as much as he had before” (Job 42:10). Twice as much. God did not merely balance the scales; He overwhelmed them. He took Job’s ashes and turned them into beauty.

And He will do the same for you.

There are things you may believe are beyond recovery—seasons of life that feel wasted, opportunities that slipped away, relationships that crumbled. But nothing is beyond the reach of God’s restoring hand. What the enemy meant for evil, God will turn for good (Genesis 50:20). What was stolen will be redeemed. What was barren will bear fruit.

What was broken will be made whole, and not only will it be made whole, but it will carry the testimony of restoration—a testimony that speaks of God’s goodness and His faithfulness in the face of loss.

So what do you do in the meantime? What do you do when the loss is fresh, when the wound is still raw? You trust. You trust the One who does not forget, the One who does not turn a blind eye. You anchor your hope in the promise that He will repay, that He will restore, even when you cannot yet see how.

And you keep believing.

For some, the repayment comes quickly. For others, it unfolds slowly over time. But make no mistake: God is not late. He is not unjust. He is working even now to bring beauty from your ashes, redemption from your pain.

Nothing that is taken will be left unrepaid.

Not your time. Not your peace. Not your joy. Not your dreams.

You may not receive back exactly what was taken, but you will receive something better—something marked by the goodness of God, something that makes you say, “It was worth it. The pain, the waiting, the loss—it was worth it because God has done something far greater than I could have imagined.”

In His hands, nothing is wasted. Nothing is forgotten. Nothing that is taken will be left unrepaid.

This is the God we serve. The God of justice. The God of restoration. The God who promises, “I will repay.”

Hold onto that promise. For what has been taken will not remain lost. It will return—not as it was, but as something far greater, for the glory of His name.