I was thinking about how God works, and it made me think about a piece of furniture created by a master craftsman. It is built to last, to be both useful and beautiful. But sometimes you see a piece of furniture that has seen better days; it is beaten up, scratched, and often put out on the curb to be taken to the rubbish tip.
At times you may see a piece of furniture that someone has decided to “patch up, but it wasn’t sanded and scraped back enough or was painted over, so you can still see the bumps and marks underneath.
You learn quickly that the most challenging part of restoring furniture or anything is stripping off the old wax and paint. It takes effort and time to overcome the effects of years of use and abuse.
There are tools for the job, and if you are not committed to the restoration, you could easily decide that the process is too complicated and time.
When you ask Jesus into your life, He restores us much like a master craftsman restores furniture. We become a brand new creature, but our soul – our mind, emotions, and body must get a hold of what Jesus has done for us in our new born again spirits. God encourages us to keep allowing our souls to be restored. ( 2 Corinthians 5:17).
Restoration is a process that has to be lived out as we allow Jesus to work on and in us, both through the good and more challenging times of our lives.
David, the psalmist, declared,” He restores my soul’’ (Psalm 23:3).
The term restores indicates a process. Only God knows what’s truly involved in repairing and renewing each individual’s heart and life.
There is a story in the book of Ruth (Ruth 1:1-22) about a woman named Naomi. She changed her name to Mara, meaning “bitter”, because she felt like her life was over, meaningless and held only bitterness.
She had lost her husband, her two sons and saw herself as alone and destitute in a foreign land. She felt empty, lost and bitter with the way her life had turned out.
But God is the great restorer and comforter. He used a young woman named Ruth in Naomi’s life to restore her family line and property and bring renewed joy. She became no longer Mara (bitter) but Naomi, meaning pleasantness and full of renewed hope and joy.
The struggles of our life can often challenge us. But there are two things that anybody who may feel like Naomi can rely upon.
1.God is a restorer. As you go over your thoughts, playing old re-runs from the scenes in your life, some things God will explain and others He will heal.
Restoration doesn’t necessarily mean everything being exactly as it was. Usually, God restores things to be better, and He gives purpose to the years of question marks.
2. God nourishes. This may be difficult for some of us to receive, but God wants to nourish and give to you.
One of the Hebrew names that express who God is and His character is “El-Shaddai” (Exodus 6:3). It means an all-sufficient one—the one who nourishes and supplies all we need.
The Bible is a book of restoration because that is God’s heart. If you take the time to read it, you’ll find it is full of people who needed to be and were restored.
I encourage you to put yourself in God’s hands and let Him continue to restore you.
Prayer: Lord, I’m going to take some time with you to allow you into my heart and life. There are areas in me that I know need your restoring hand and renewal. Please help me to stop, trust and let you go to work. In Jesus name Amen.
“Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit” (Psalm 51:12)
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