How God Restores Us, Part 2
“He who was seated on the throne said, ‘I am making everything new!’”
Revelation 21:5 (NIV)
God is in the restoration business! The Psalmist said, “He restores my soul!” in that favorite chapter of Psalm 23. It is so often read at funerals, but it is really a Psalm for the living! How does God restore our lives? Yesterday we looked at the first two stages of restoration. The initial stage is salvation, that moment of a lifetime that changes our lives forever, when we trust the Lord Jesus who gave His life for us on the cross to offer His life to us in His resurrection power! The second stage is the process that follows our decision of faith. Theologians call this stage sanctification, learning to be the Christian we have become. But there is a final stage of restoration to come.
Stage 3: Final Restoration
The revelator, John, writes of this final restoration. Like most books, when you jump to the last chapters, you see how it all ends. In the end, we win! God triumphs over evil, and He restores all things! In Revelation 21:5 (NIV), the Bible records the promise: “He who was seated on the throne said, ‘I am making everything new!’ Then he said, ‘Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.’”
I love that phrase, “I am making everything new!” Just reading that gives me hope! He didn’t say He was making all new stuff, but He is taking all that He has made, all the things that were broken, and restoring them as new! This is a game changer! It changes my perspective in the here and now and gives me hope! Hope to cope with loss and pain, disappointment, and brokenness. In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul says that, if it were not for this future and final restoration of all things, we would have no hope. But, because of the promise of final restoration, we have a hope that is greater than all our hurt. It is the great restoration of all God’s creation! In Hebrews 6:18c-19, the Message paraphrases it like this:
“We who have run for our very lives to God have every reason to grab the promised hope with both hands and never let go. It’s an unbreakable spiritual lifeline….”
This hope shines brighter than our darkest night! It is our lifeline that holds us when we’ve lost our grip! A new day is coming when there will be no more pain! No more sickness! No more death! No more crying! This is your destiny! You were made to be restored! Grab hold of that promised hope and never let go!
Another important part of your daily devotional is spending time with God in prayer. The Woodlands Church Prayer Board lists prayer requests submitted by our members and provides a way to send them some encouragement by using a button on the page to let them know that you prayed for them. Whether you use the Prayer Board, or pray from your heart, the goal is to build the habit of incorporating prayer into your quiet time.
Need prayer yourself? Let us know by submitting a prayer request on the Woodlands Church Prayer Board.