A plum-colored reupholstered velvet couch.
A creamy white repainted picture frame.
A refurbished cherry red 1969 Mustang.
What comes to mind when you hear the word “restoration”?
I’ve been asking that question a lot lately. Restore is the theme of this year’s Women of Joy tour. Alongside Angela Thomas, Angie Smith, Patsy Clairmont, Anita Renfroe, Candace Cameron Bure, Lysa Terkheurst, Jan Silvious, I’ve been wrestling with what it means to be restored.
Restoration is messy. Whether you’re mod-podging a canvas or reupholstering an old chair.
Often when we say God will restore us, we want that to mean…
God will erase the pain and suffering we’ve experienced
or that he’ll reimburse us for our losses
or that he’ll make everything “the way they used to be”
or “give us back our former life.”
Yet Biblical restoration isn’t about recovering our losses as much as recovering right relationship with God.
We orbit around God.
Jesus is our centerpiece, our focal point, our gravitational pull.
God’s restoration is a transformation of our character that enables us to better reflect the true image of God both to the world and back to him in worship.
When he restores us, he restores us to faithfulness, integrity, courage, truthfulness, goodness, kindness, temperance, wisdom, purity and discernment.
First Peter 5:10 encourages us:
“The God of all Grace, who called you to his eternal grace in Christ, after you have suffered awhile, will himself restore you strong, firm and steadfast.”
It would be nice say that God restores our lost days, our relationships, our broken pieces of a life, but this word “restore” does not biblically mean “return,” “bring back” or “refurbish.”
I think of Job. In the final swooping chapter of the book bearing his name, he abounds with children, livestock, and wealth. Job’s losses were returned. Right?
In some ways, they never were.
The children he lost were gone, gone, gone.
The flocks he owned were gone, gone, gone.
The wealth he had was gone, gone, gone, gone.
How do you look in the eyes of a father and say, “Look you have more children!” when he will never hold the firstborn who once bounced on his knee.
Restoration is messy.
In my life, the things that have been stripped from my body will never return. If I wait for those, or endure another half-dozen surgeries, what I receive will never, ever be the same.
Perhaps that makes me biased. But I believe we must nudge deeper into restoration—beyond surface repairs.
When God promises restoration, it’s for the formation of our character.
God’s desire is to form us more and more into the image of Christ, not to get us our houses, jobs, spouses, children and belongings back.
Now let me clarify: we are not called to comfort, but neither are we called to suffering.
Those who live by faith in Christ are called to eternal glory.
“A world where Christians can expect to suffer simply because of their faith in God is not a world as God created it. In the time and place of eternal glory, there will be no suffering, for God will put things right, eliminating the source.”
The word restore (katartistei), “is the idea that God ‘called you in Christ to his eternal glory.”
We are going to be restored unto God, not unto our human life on earth as we think life should be.
So perhaps the one thing we must do if we want to lay hold of the restoration God has for us is to stop looking back to…
the life we once knew…
the illusions we once clung to…
the false security we once enjoyed…
And begin looking up to…
the One who longs to embrace us tighter
the One who seeks to deeper our trust
the One who calls us to eternal glory
After all, the restoration of God takes place from the inside out rather than the outside in.
Join us for the Women of Joy Restore tour coming to a city near you. Grab your girlfriends, small group, or women’s ministry and register here to join us in Myrtle Beach, Louisville, or San Antonio.
I can’t wait to hug your neck.
Restore me Lord!
Thank you for sharing this! With my husband’s 68 Firebird sitting in the garage, having taken over the space for months. I can know this car restoration process is slow, messy, and hard work. But after reading your words, I realize this applies to people. Maybe now I will be more patient with others and myself.
Hugs!
Love that this encourages you! Patience is a muscle that takes so much work some days! Hugs!
This post reminds me of what we called “new normal” in our cancer support group. We can’t go back to get what we once had, but we can go forward and get something new. If we trust God, we will know that He will make good for us, because we love Him (from Romans 8:28). Good, just not the same. So I guess we could call it “new good”.
Thanks for this post Margaret. Love and prayers for you.
So good! Thank you for sharing. Yes, a “new good”. Hugs!
Thank you Margaret for a timely word.
I so enjoyed your session this past weekend,, Makes me rethink a lot of what I am doing and where I am headed.. Needed to be straightened out on that, LOL
Blessing to you and your ministry. Love to you
Needed this !!! Thank you & I love the way you explained restoration with decoupage or craft project — related to that so well … I have an old window that I’ve meant to paint and I pondered as I looked at the panes of glass- how I thought about our lives can be that way when we’re expecting to be restored … If that window could speak to me it would probably say why do you keep passing me by instead of fixing me up to be a beautiful creation with the wreath over top. but I haven’t taken the time to read the Bible to work on the character within myself much let alone painted a window turquoise to add to the decor of my home… More important to restore character in my heart and work on the fruit of the Spirit then chalk paint a turquoise window… I do know that when I get around to doing the window project I’ll certainly think of my own restoration …
Love this! So grateful you were touched. Hugs!
LOVE your processing on this! So good to make it relevant to your life. Prayers for you and the restoration you seek. Hugs!
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