The Bogong moth suffered an extraordinary population collapse beginning in 2017. Estimates suggest numbers fell by as much as 99.5% during the severe drought. They went from historical numbers in the billions to being almost undetectable in some areas.
But their story wasn’t over.
And now, almost a decade later, we are seeing these moths appearing again in remarkable numbers. Their return is a powerful reminder that seasons of decline do not have to determine the future.
Isaiah 43:19 says, “See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?”
I believe this is a prophetic picture of what the Lord is speaking over His people right now.
There are many who have walked through seasons of devastation, loss, disappointment and delay. Some have carried promises for years and begun to wonder whether what God spoke could ever come to pass. Some have looked at their circumstances and thought, “Surely this is the end. Surely this has died. Surely I have missed it. Surely it is too late.”
But I believe the Lord is saying: YOUR STORY ISN’T OVER!
Habakkuk 2:3 says, “Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay.”
What feels delayed to us is not forgotten by God. Even when something disappears from our sight, it has not disappeared from His purposes.
I believe God is speaking so loudly through this Bogong moth population recovery because, for many, this has not simply been a season of loss—it has been a long season of dying to self.
It has been a season where God has been dealing deeply with our hearts, stripping away what could not go with us into the next season and teaching us surrender, obedience and trust. Old ways had to die. Old identities had to die. Our need for control had to die. Our own plans had to be laid down. Things we once depended upon had to be surrendered.
John 15:2 says that the Father prunes the fruitful branch “so that it will be even more fruitful.”
What felt like loss was often pruning. What felt like death was often preparation.
And sometimes the process has been incredibly painful because many could not understand what God was doing beneath the surface. But the death was necessary for new life to come forth.
Jesus said in John 12:24, “Unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.”
The seed does not look alive when it is buried. From the outside, it looks like an ending. But beneath the surface, something is happening. Roots are forming. Life is preparing to emerge.
Many have mistaken the dying season for the death of the promise—looking at what has been stripped away and assuming God was finished, when in reality, He was preparing something that could not yet be seen.
Romans 8:28 reminds us that “in all things God works for the good of those who love him.”
The years of waiting were not wasted. The tears were not wasted. The hidden season was not wasted. God was working beneath the surface, even when you could not yet see what He was doing.
This is why the picture of the Bogong moth speaks so deeply to me. There was a catastrophic decline. Something once abundant had almost disappeared. And yet the story did not end there.
Years later, they are appearing again. Their return reminds us that a season of decline does not have to determine the future.
Ezekiel 37 asks, “Can these bones live?” And the Lord responds by breathing life into what appeared completely dead.
There are those who have almost given up—those who have prayed until they became weary, believed for so long that disappointment has started speaking louder than faith, and wondered whether the promise has died because they have waited so long to see it.
But Psalm 31:24 says, “Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the Lord.”
The season of dying does not mean your story is dying. Hiddenness does not mean God has forgotten you. Pruning does not mean there will be no fruit. There is still life in what God has spoken.
Joel 2:25 declares, “I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten.”
That Scripture carries tremendous weight in this season. The years were not wasted. God is a God of restoration. He is able to rebuild, revive and breathe life into places that have grown weary.
Isaiah 61:7 says, “Instead of your shame there shall be a double portion.”
Restoration in God’s hands is not simply a return to the past. He can take every surrendered season and bring forth something new from it.
If God has been asking you to surrender things you never thought you would have to surrender, do not despise the process. If you have wondered why certain things have been stripped away, trust that He is working even where you cannot see.
Galatians 2:20 says, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.”
There is a deeper life that comes through surrender, and there is fruit that comes after pruning.
I believe the Lord is saying:
“You thought you were dying, but I was preparing you for life.”
Philippians 1:6 says, “He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion.”
He has not abandoned what He began. He has not forgotten His promises. His work is still unfolding, even in the places where you cannot yet see the full picture.
THE STORY ISN’T OVER.
The promise still has a future. There is still room for restoration, renewal and resurrection. The hidden season has not been wasted, and the tears you have carried have not gone unnoticed. There is a harvest on the other side of the tears. (Psalm 126:5)
We are entering a season of COMEBACK, RESTORATION, REBIRTH AND RECOMPENSE!
Not because we can manufacture it, manipulate it or force it into existence, but because God is able to breathe life into places beyond human recovery.
Jesus said in John 11:25, “I am the resurrection and the life.”
Our God is not intimidated by how long the journey has been. He is not limited by how far circumstances have fallen. He is not restricted by what appears impossible. For it is written in Matthew 19:26 “With God all things are possible.”
So to the one who has almost given up, who has wondered whether the promise has died, take heart!
The long season of dying to self, the waiting, the questions, the pruning and the hiddenness have all been part of the process. The death was necessary for new life to come forth. The burial was preparing something to rise, and the stripping away was making room for something new. Even in the secret place, God was preparing what He would reveal in His time.
His word over His people in this season is—
“GET READY FOR THE COMEBACK, RESTORATION, AND RECOMPENSE!”
A new chapter is beginning. Life is stirring again. Hope is rising. The hidden work is coming into view, and the promise is moving toward fulfilment.
Isaiah 43:19 declares, “Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?”
THE STORY ISN’T OVER. THE COMEBACK IS ONLY BEGINNING!
