God Restores
God restores us. He restores our souls… He restores everything.
God’s love and mercy are always there, ready for us. But are we ready to receive them? To be restored by our loving God?
Join us as we discover God’s restoration and how we can walk in it!
God is Love
“for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,”
—Romans 3:23-24
We all sin. We all stumble and fall short of the glory of God. Yet, He restores us!
“He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.”
—Psalm 23:3
Even when words tumble from our lips that should never be spoken. When we take the innocent behaviors of others and twist them. When we allow something before our eyes not wholly of God. God STILL restores; no matter how big or small our sins may be.
The Word says that ALL have sinned; the result of the fall in the Garden. Yet, because Jesus, the One without sin, willingly paid the price to free us, that sin is expunged through His Blood!
All can find restoration in God. For, despite the fall of man in the Garden, it was not and is not the end! Because God is merciful and He is love!
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”
—John 3:16
So even though we may at times stumble and fall, it does not mean we have to give in. Every time we fall, a series of choices are laid before us. Some can keep us down in a pit and cycle of sin, but others lead to restoration—changing who we have been for who God created us to be via the Blood, Name, and mercy found in Yeshua our Messiah.
What Should We Do If We Fall?
When we stumble or fall, ideally, our thoughts, words, and actions should immediately turn to our Father. To the Creator of ALL. This first shift, even when not instantaneous, allows us to redirect our focus.
In remembering God, we realize we have sinned, allowing us to then take responsibility for that sin and repent of it…
“‘Now, therefore,’ says the Lord, ‘turn to Me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning.’ So rend your heart, and not your garments; return to the Lord your God, for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness; and He relents from doing harm.”
—Joel 2:12-13
Now, what comes next is often the most difficult step, especially if we are repenting for a sin we have faced before… and that step is disassociating from the sin. Not forgetting that we have faced it—after all, it is part of our testimony and a testament to God’s mercy—but no longer agreeing with or accepting it. It is a form of separation from the sin, realigning us with the ways of the Lord.
In other words, we turn from the sin and return to God so that when the same temptation or test comes again, we can change our behavior. This change is not always easy. However, without change we can become stuck in a sin cycle—where that sin becomes a habit, pattern, or even an addiction or idol.
In all the steps of return, God is more than willing to help us, but we too must be willing. We have to turn and return, making the choice to behave in a different way than before—to behave like Jesus and not His enemy. Doing nothing unless our Father does it first. Standing on the words found in Luke 11:2, “Your will be done on earth.”
It is in our return to God—choosing to be the creation God made us to be—that we find fullness and restoration to our Father. For our Father, like the father of the prodigal son, desires to restore us…
“…he arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him. And the son said… ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son.’
“But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet. And bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry; for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ …”
—Luke 15:20-24
When we, like the prodigal son, come to our senses, remember our Father and return home, we are restored to the life God has prepared for us. A life that is good, full of richness, authority, and belonging.
The Importance of Restoration
“…I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten…”
—Joel 2:25
When we return to God—leaving behind our sinful nature—God brings restoration. He restores and breathes new life into us. He restores the years that the locusts of our life have eaten and returns us to covenant relationship!
All it takes is rising to our feet and putting one foot in front of the other as we keep our eyes firmly fixed on our Father.
Yes, sometimes we fall due to the same thing, not once but a dozen times… yet God is merciful and patient. He will help us rise to our feet and walk with Him if we ask. He will help us overcome!
However, we need to keep our eyes on God and not the storms—fears, doubts, temptations, etc. Because it is when our eyes are upon Him that we find we can walk upon the water with the Lord. For with God, all things are possible. His perfect love casts out fear!
“But Jesus looked at them and said… ‘With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.’”
—Matthew 19:26
Peter walked upon the water with Jesus, and it was not until his eyes turned from the Messiah to the storm around them that he sank into the waves. This is true for all of us. When storms of trial, test, tribulation, and temptation come, the surest way to rise above the waters and find restoration is to keep our eyes fixed on God. We must not remove our eyes from His love-filled gaze!
“…Jesus spoke to them, saying, ‘Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid.’
“And Peter answered Him… ‘Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.’
“So He said, ‘Come.’ And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus.”
—Matthew 14:27-29
By repenting and walking upon the water with our Creator, we find the truest restoration of all. The love, relationship, authority, and purpose only found in our Great God! In our Father!
He Restores My Soul
To find true restoration we must first return to God.
God knows we are imperfect, yet He loves us still. After all, it was while we were still sinners that God gave His only Son to restore us to Him.
It was not we who first loved God, for God greatly loved us long before we ever loved…
“There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. We love Him because He first loved us.”
—1 John 4:18-19
It is because of God’s great love that the Blood of Yeshua is available today. It is available to pull us from the pit where we have fallen to a place where, if we follow God, we will not leave. A place of acquittal, promise, authority, and kinship with the King of all!
“…there is really no difference between us, for we all have sinned and are in need of the glory of God. Yet through his powerful declaration of acquittal, God freely gives away his righteousness. His gift of love and favor now cascades over us, all because Jesus, the Anointed One, has liberated us from the guilt, punishment, and power of sin!”
—Romans 3:22-24 (TPT)
God’s Light is available for us to shine to the world. It is ours not only for our restoration, but so that we might bring restoration to those around us; guiding them to the hope and freedom found in Jesus!
“‘…One thing I know: that though I was blind, now I see.’”
—John 9:25
So let us ask God to restore our spiritual sight, that we are not blinded by the wind or waves of sin and the grave, but instead, clearly see the Light of Heaven through the glory and grace of God!
Let us accept God’s restoration, knowing that while we are not worthy in ourselves, we are made worthy by God’s love. By the grace, mercy, Blood, and Name which is above every other name. The Name of Yeshua!
And let us share these gifts of God with the world, that they might partake of the fullness and restoration of God!
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.”
—John 3:16-17