What is restoration?
The biblical meaning of the word “restoration” is to receive back more than has been lost to the point where the final state is greater than the original condition. Unlike the regular dictionary meaning of “restoration,” which is to return something to its original condition, the biblical definition of the word has greater connotations that go above and beyond typical everyday usage. Repeatedly throughout the Bible, God blesses people for their faith and hardships by making up for their losses and giving them more than they previously had before.
Is there something missing in your life? The devil wonders about this earth with his cohorts to see what damage he can cause people. He is a liar, a thief, a murderer, and a deceiver. If you are a Christian then you probably, at some point, have something in your life. The devil puts obstacles in one’s life to rob them of something important to them. Did you lose the money you had saved for retirement? Loss of a business? Loss of love? Loss of health? Your sleep? Your joy? Or anything else that was important to you that you lost?
Don’t take defeat lying down. God doesn’t want His kids to be defeated. God is a restorer, but the devil is a thief. God’s plan for restoration always involves restoring things to you better than they would have been. It might look different to you, but when God is involved and we do things His way, God will work in the background to restore to you what was lost.
What in your life needs to be restored? It is time to consider what was stolen from you. Make it plain. You can even write it down. You don’t have to forget it any longer. Make it plain by identifying what was lost. Identify, it in your mind by writing it all down. (I know many hate lists) What would you like to see restored?
“Write the vision; make it plain.” –Habakkuk 2:2 (ESV)
This list is not a “pity party”. It is a time to reflect on what was taken from you. Not to be bitter or ever want revenge, but a time of reflection. Many of us have had great losses but now is the time to consider the restoration. Might never be what we think should happen or exactly what we think we need to have whatever “it” is restored to us. Let God in on this and whatever He restores to your life is what you need. God loves to see His family have victory. Just like we would want to see our children be a success as well in their life and over what they face. Bring to remembrance what you feel was stolen from you.
In that list put down everything, you would like to see restored in your life, or in the life of someone you care about (Spouse, parent, child, friend, co-worker, neighbor, etc.). With covid, for instance, my husband lost his smell. That might not be a biggie to someone you know, but it is a biggie to him. That was not the only loss in the covid he had and he has many residuals from it. I have had a great many losses in my life, and I don’t need to list them here for you to see, because this is not about me, it is about you getting your losses restored…by God…in His way!
So now what? Ask God to restore your losses to you. Have you said it out loud? Did you write it down? Do you talk to God about it?
“No one says, ‘Restore!’’’ –Isaiah 42:22 (NKJV)
Well if you haven’t asked God to restore your loss to you (in His way), why haven’t you asked Him? Ask God to restore your time, your reputation, your finances, your marriage, and your children from going in the wrong direction. What needs to be restored in your life? Ask God !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! When you ask God to restore, it is crucial that you also believe that He will. James 1:6-8 says if you ask Him but don’t, truly, eagerly believe it will happen, you won’t get it. If you don’t seem to have enough faith in this area then ask God for faith to believe as well.
It is now time to ask for restoration. Put force on the circumstance with the Word of God. Even if you don’t know how it will happen, and even if it seems to be against all odds…believe. If we learn nothing else here know that God is pleased when His family comes to Him and gives them the things that are important to His family. Yes, He knows already, but He wants that relationship with each of us so that we will go to Him and talk to Him. There is nothing on this earth that He doesn’t know, or hasn’t heard. Nothing is too big or too small to talk to God about. He is never too busy to listen. You might not always feel it, but He is right there with us when we pray. Time to look up to God instead of just wallowing in the issues of life. Ask God what you should do in your situation. Remember all of us go through things in life and nothing is new to God. You can’t surprise Him. Just be honest with Him. You can’t hide even your thoughts from Him!!!
Okay…now ask God what you need to have corrected in your life. Is there something in you that needs correction? People pretty much think nothing is their fault, so nothing needs to be changed for them. Wrong! Let each of us search our life, and ask of God what in us needs to be corrected. What do we need to change in us for things to get better?
“Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but he who hates reproof is stupid.” –Proverbs 12:1 (ESV)
Correction is not a good word for most of us, is it? But correction puts us in a place with our heavenly Father to be able to receive from Him. We need to be adjusted. If we don’t get adjusted as God sees our situation then we truly lack in wisdom. It is always easier to play the blame game, but much harder to look at ourselves and see if we played a role in the loss we had. (such as a bad marriage etc.) God is always concerned with His family and what is best for them, but as humans, boy do we make a lot of mistakes in life that we either wish we hadn’t, or we want to blame someone else for what happened. God wants us to go to Him, talk to Him, and if we need correction…………………………take it and do whatever that “it” is that needs to be fixed.
Take your marriage…did you work on it? The job that you wanted to get a promotion, did you do your best at work, and were you prepared? Were you even more prepared that the person who got that promotion? Did you ever ask God if it was right for you, or what you should do? Sometimes we only see what we want to see in life and most times we don’t go to God and ask His opinion first. Maybe, just maybe, that is not the job God desires for you. Maybe you are in that job to grow, and maybe, you are there to learn something you need in life before you go on to something God is going to put in your path. Sometimes, we are our worst enemies.
Forget everything going on around you. You work on yourself.
Maybe you have a victim mentality—the idea that life just happens to you, and you can’t do anything about it. We can do a lot more than we realize. We can ask of God and trust Him that He will work on our situation. We might think that nothing changes, but exactly what did you do to get it changed? Did you ask God and then just shut up and wait until God answers you? If you go around in life thinking you are always the victim you probably won’t make it to victorious. Take responsibility for your actions. Do what is right even if you are the only one doing it. Stop focusing on the circumstances of your situation and blaming everyone else. If you did something, or you didn’t do something…then own up to it.
“I have no one to put me in the pool” John 5:7 or “He stole my birthright and my blessing!” Genesis 27:36).
Our God is so great that He doesn’t want you to be a victim in your eyes, He wants you to know that He is there for you and you are no longer powerless. You have God in the situation when you give Him that situation. We are only the victim when we accept it, and when we don’t allow God to correct us and do as He says. None of us is above correction, nor are we ever without a time when we need it.
Sow a seed for restoration. Yes, you do something to sow a seed of restoration. Ask God what it is that He wants you to sow. No one can do it for you.
Now be thankful, have gratitude in your heart and life. We always need to be thankful in life for all we have or still have. The air in your lungs is a great thing to be thankful for…just ask someone who can hardly breathe. Do the sowing so that you can reap the harvest in your situation.
“Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you.” –1 Thessalonians 5:18 (NIV)
Can you today (and each day) name 7 things you are truly thankful for? Being thankful each day no matter what your situation looks like is also a start to wisdom in your life.
Know this: The devil does not want your life to get better. He wants you wallowing in self-pity, blaming everyone for your pains and sorrows. If he can keep you there you won’t be victorious. But……………. God wants you victorious so take all your problems to God. Seek Him and ask Him what to do in your situation and then listen to Him.
Even when things look pretty grim in your life look up and praise our wonderful heavenly Father. Take Paul and Silas for instance:
Paul and Silas “were praying and singing hymns to God” (Acts 16:25, NIV). The result? “All the prison doors flew open, and everyone’s chains came loose” (verse 26, NIV). All the doors. Every chain. All because of praise and thanksgiving—hearts of gratitude toward God.
This doesn’t mean that is exactly what would happen in your situation. God takes each circumstance we go through in life and when we thank Him and praise Him, then God can take that situation to bring about the result He wants for us…not what we think is right, but what God says is right in that situation. It is different for each of us even if we each are going through something similar. For God knows our heart, our circumstances, and the result. We can pray amiss, but we can’t praise amiss. Restoration is something that every one of us needs in every area of life. We all need to be restored to God’s original intent for us. Talk with God, walk with God, listen to God, and trust God that no matter His answer in our situation it will be the right answer even if we can’t yet see it. Also, don’t wish something bad on anyone else ever…for when you do this t does hinder God from your situation. Remember that you might hate what someone did, but they are being worked on with God at some point also. We are all in different stages of God’s work in our life. Pray for them instead of wishing harm on them. Right now know that God wants to work in your life and on your restoration and growth.
Psalm 103:4, God has redeemed my life from the pit–so who am I to refuse to let God execute those same mercies on someone else? Who am I to hinder God’s work on the earth?
So let’s start getting our life restored. Let’s be disciples of Jesus, emulating Him in every area, rather than just fans of Jesus. Let’s be carriers of His heart on the earth. Each of us has a job to do for the kingdom. Each of us has a story. Each of us is in this life on earth to learn what we need to carry us into life with Him at the end of our life here on earth. I know I am a work in progress. God is not done with me yet, and I would venture to say that God is not done with you either. Don’t hinder your walk with Him. Always put God first in your life, and take the step to have a personal relationship with Him. He is there for you. Now it is your turn. Do what is right on the side of God, and do what you need to do to have restoration. It might not seem easy, and you just might need to change something in your own life, but it will be so worth it for in the end if you are right with God you will make it to heaven and get that peace we can only think about now. God is obsessed with each of us. He loves us so much. Isn’t it time to show Him we love Him as well by choosing to do things His way?
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