2022-04-01
Good Morning Dear Ones,
The subject of restoration can’t be in only last week’s devotion because the Holy Spirit has more to say on it. God doesn’t ever lie, nor does He create junk! It is why we can take what we read in the Scriptures at His word. 1 PET 5: 10, “And the God of all grace, Who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will Himself restore you and make you strong, firm, and steadfast.” I share two examples from my own life below.
By nature, humans inherit sin [GN 3: 1-6] and add to it with their own sinfulness. This puts us in a seemingly unsolvable predicament. However, those of us who believe in the Lord Jesus can rely on God to keep His promises. That is why the Psalmist, in PS 85: 4-7, can rest assured that God is listening to this prayer and all prayers offered. “Restore us again, O God our Savior, and put away Your displeasure toward us. Will You be angry with us forever? Will You prolong Your anger through all generations? Will You not revive us again, that Your people may rejoice in You? Show us Your unfailing love, O Lord, and grant us Your salvation.” By bringing His Son, Jesus, to earth and creating Him to be a Man of His word in agreeing to be the Propitiation for our sin (despite humiliation, scourging, the awful pain of crucifixion, and a resurrected Being), the Father gives us remarkable restoration that allows us to gain eternal life. We should be comforted and motivated to live according to God’s teaching.
Inherent in such a prayer is the need for forgiveness, trust in God, and God’s help. He gives it to us as outlined in EPH 2: 8-10. “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for you to do.” When we read the Scriptures, we see what God requires of us and come to be able to see Him at work in our lives. God is a Promise-keeper, and we need to rely on Him. COL 3: 13, “Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.” Imagine! Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, gave His life to be obedient to the Father and moreover to enable observant believers in Him to enjoy eternal life with Him! God makes it clear what He expects of us, and we should make it clear that we trust enough in Him to know what to expect of Him. JN 3: 16, “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” No human can save His own life. God’s help is built into his life—His presence, intervention, and wisdom. God makes His wisdom available to us through Jesus Christ [COL 1: 26-27; COL 2: 2-3]. If the metaphor of a court room were used, we can imagine a human sinning, his contrition expressed in prayer, and the Lord Jesus advocating before God for forgiveness. God listens to every prayer we send up with a genuine heart. God not only listens but He makes this two-way pipeline for communication available to us at any time, day or night. Our job is to pray with a faithfully obedient heart and to look for God’s answers. I personally add that we should consider any lessons God has for us in the situation that prompted the prayer.
Trust in God doesn’t always come easily to us. It’s like the exercise of learning to fall back, trusting that your friend will catch you from behind. ECCL 4: 9-10, “Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up!” God has forged many wonderful human to human relationships, in which the exchange between friends strengthen each other’s faith and/or fulfills something missing in the other’s life that God wants in it. I have been the recipient of God’s generosity in this area and have many friends that have greatly enriched my life, as God intends. No matter what we are doing, we should always keep God’s agenda in mind. He will give us love, joy, peace, and restoration!
PRAYER: O Lord, do we truly understand our covenant relationship with You? Our sinfulness doesn’t please You. However, if we are willing to pray with genuine contrition for our sins and recognize them as such, You will listen to our prayers, expecting us to stop the sin and grant forgiveness for it. It is out of Your love for us that You are happy to restore us. When David prayed in PS 51: 1-17, particularly 11-12 to acknowledge his sins and apologize for them, You heard and forgave him. He became one of the most beloved and successful kings Israel ever had. When Job was besieged by the devil’s evil done to him, You gave Job sufficient faith and trust in You to remain resolute in his belief. Later, You restored Job to an even better life than he had before. When Christ and the apostles gave their lives for You, they were all honored in heaven. You grant forgiveness to us and help us in accordance with our obedience to Your teaching. You are a God, Who grants us love and inner joy, blessing us more greatly than we ever deserve. We offer You thanks and praise for hearing our every prayer. We ask You to keep us safe through war, famine, and all that may befall us, in the holy/mighty name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
NEXT WEEK: The Holy Spirit commands that I write about what Israel brings into our lives via the Lord. Now let me share two examples from my own life of restoration supplied by our Lord: 1 Over 47 years ago, I went through a very nasty divorce from my 15-year- long first marriage to the father of my son. I was left broken and unable to trust from that experience. My son also suffered, as he went to live for 6 years with my ex-husband and his second wife. But God had a plan for both myself and my son, a plan which was executed at His perfect time and way. I met a male neighbor with whom I fell in love, one who became my second husband, Peter, who was a wonderful father for my son. When the six years were up, my son came to live with us. He is now living a very normal life with his own wife of over 20 years and has a son of his own. What God accomplished was to bring us both to saving faith in Him. Yet another way that God brought restoration into my life. There was a wave of company employee downsizings in the 1990’s. These upended my husband’s career. We were forced to sell our lovely MN home, but it took 1 ½ years to do so. I spent that time finding the right neighborhood and drove around it, looking at every condo that came up for sale. At exactly the time the right one came up, our home finally sold. Once again, God in His effort to teach me to be patience and trust in Him, brought us restoration. Later we moved to UT and lived there until my husband passed away. I now live with my generous, loving, and kind son and his family. With faithful obedience to Him, we can all expect our own examples of His restoration in our lives. Praise and thanks be to Him!
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn, JS 24: 15
© Lynn Johnson 2022. All Rights Reserved.
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