Amos 9:11 - Restoration

“In that day
“I will restore David’s fallen shelter—
     I will repair its broken walls
     and restore its ruins—
     and will rebuild it as it used to be,

In this passage God has just stated how he will destroy the Israelites because of their sin, then he tells them how he will restore them. As we deal with the wreckage of our lives (family problems, work problems, depression, addiction, natural disasters, loss of a job, health issues, etc...), we to are promised restoration. We may see some restoration in the world, but more importantly, we will receive complete restoration when we are with God.

Lord, thank you for the gift of restoration. Please help us to not loose hope, but to look to you to be made complete again. Amen.

Psalm 126:6 - Joy after sorrow

Those who go out weeping,

     carrying seed to sow,

will return with songs of joy,

     carrying sheaves with them.

God gives us hope. So many painful things happen, but God restores our joy.

Lord, thank you for your restoration, bringing beauty from ashes, joy from weeping. Please help us to rely on you in our times of suffering and focus on the hope we have in you. Amen.

Psalm 80:3, 7 & 19 - Routine maintenance

Restore us, O God;
     make your face shine on us,
     that we may be saved.

This verse is repeated three times in this Psalm, probably sort of like a chorus. I think is is appropriate for it to be repeated because we are in constant need of restoration. I have learned this lesson the hard way in the restoration of our house. We have been very neglectful of  routine maintenance on our house over the last 10 years or so. We are paying the price now. We are not just painting walls and redoing floors, we are having to rebuild some walls, floors, roofs and ceilings because we did not make it a point to constantly restore our home. Our lives are this way. If we regularly ask God for restoration and forgiveness, if we stay in regular contact with him, our relationship with him will mature and strengthen. If we let things go, we will have to do some tearing down and rebuilding.

Lord, thank you for your constant restoration. Please help us to come to you often and allow us to mature and strengthen. Amen.

Psalm 71:20 - Choosing peace in the chaos

Though you have made me see troubles,
     many and bitter,
     you will restore my life again;
from the depths of the earth
     you will again bring me up.

This weekend I went to a Ladies Day with the theme of "Choosing Peace in the Chaos." I really needed this last night when dealing with home restoration issues. I allowed myself to get so down and depressed, until I realized, I have a choice of how I react to this. I have been working on seeing the blessing within every problem. The fact that I am having problems with our home restoration means I have a house. If I am complaining about my job, I need to remember what a blessing it is to have a job. When I am complaining about the struggles I have overeating, remember I am not struggling to get enough to eat. We will have troubles, but God restores us.

Lord, thank you for restoration. Please help us to choose peace in the chaos. Amen.

1 Peter 5:10 - Restored

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.

After dealing with "the blues" for a few days, I finally remembered to go to the Lord with my problem and of course, he comforted me. Occasionally I give devotional talks at work. I usually have no notice of these, so I talk about whatever I studied that morning. Yesterday we centered our devotional on depression and suggestions for dealing with "the blues". It was so helpful and the verse above was a result of that study. Everyone gets down occasionally, even great Biblical heroes did. But whatever season of difficulty we are in, God promises to bring us through those times and restore us.

Lord, thank you for walking with us in our low times and bringing us through them. Please help us to remember to always turn to you in our times of trial. Amen.