Day 4 – He will restore

My husband is a classic car nut! Whenever he sees old cars he gets giddy. He literally gets upset when he sees old cars get crushed, destroyed, or damaged on T.V. shows. He loves to see those old cars restored to how they were in time past.

God is just like that toward us. He created original models just the way He wanted them to be but we were born into a broken world where people are being crushed, destroyed, and damaged on a daily basis. On top of that, we deal with a sin problem and time in this world changes us. This world and it’s affects change the hearts of men and the way we view life. But God! He had a plan, He sent Jesus Christ to reconcile us and restore us to Himself. He sends His people to speak to us His message of love. One by one those little seemly insignificant moments chip away a window into our hearts and light floods in. When we encounter Him, He starts the restoration process.

2 Corinthians 5:18-20 All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; ¹⁹ that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. ²⁰ Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.

Unlike cars, they don’t fight the changes. We struggle against the work God is doing in us, thinking we know how to help ourselves.  In this verse, Paul is encouraging the Corinthian people, and us, to press in and strive for full restoration. We must learn to cooperate with the Holy Spirit so that we will be fully restored and reconciled to God. Restoration and reconciliation mean there is nothing between me and God.

2 Corinthians 13:11-14 Finally, brothers, rejoice. Aim for restoration, comfort one another, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you. ¹² Greet one another with a holy kiss. ¹³ All the saints greet you.¹⁴ The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

I believe we are being continually reconciled to God. It’s not a one and done kind of deal. We get distracted and fall in love with worldly things and often forget about God. My husband and I went through a reconciling process a few years back where God began to show us we needed to let go of certain things in order to be restored to each other and Him. I had a friendship that was taking priority over my marriage. He was working a job that no longer fit him and caused him a lot of grief and anxiety. We both fought against the changes that were needed because we thought we knew what was best. We fought with each other. We could see what was wrong in the other’s life but hearing that from your spouse feels like control and domination. Instead of striving for full restoration we would compete and defeat the whole purpose of reconciliation. But God started this process in us and as He began to reveal the heart issues and damage being done, we surrendered.

Instead of striving for full restoration we compete and defeat the whole purpose of reconciliation. – TWEET THIS!

Looking back I see a lot of wasted time acting like I knew what was right. I am so thankful that God doesn’t give up on us hard-headed kids. I look around at my life and I wonder at what He has done. He is faithful and He keeps His promises. He will not leave us or forsake us. If we could only trust Him, He will restore our lives, relationships, and our situations to better than before. I know it. He did it for me. He will do it for you.

PRAYER: 

Father if there is anything between You and me will you reveal it. Show me how to follow You and let go of all the things that keep me from enjoying this reconciliation that cost You so much. 

Have you been fighting against the change that is needed in your life? Are you tired of the struggle? It is time to surrender and make the changes He is revealing so that you may be fully restored.

Thanks for Listening,

Starla

Lent is a beautiful time to center on Christ and allow Him to wake us up to what He is doing in our lives. Most the time we miss it because we are far too busy and we allow life to drift on by, missing the glory of Christ in and all around us.

Life is messy. We see the brokenness in our world. It is also in our relationship with God, with ourselves, with each other. But God wants to restore; He is making all things new.

I am reading a devotional Called Restore for Lent on my Youversion app. As I read. I am also writing my own thoughts on the verse they gave. Enjoy.