Wednesday, January 09 2008

Restoration

“Restore to me the joy of Your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.” Psalm 51:12

God purposed His only begotten son to reconcile us to Him and to do a complete work of restoration. Divine restoration means to bring us back to God’s original intent and purpose for us, made whole, full of His presence.

When we first accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we are born again in the spirit, elated with joy. All we want to do is to please God and shout to the world how wonderful this amazing transformation feels. We want everyone we know and beyond to experience it. And as we step back into the world to work and interact, we can be tempted to slip back into former patterns of sin. But God loves us so much that even when we behave in ways that hurt His heart, if we repent, He is quick to forgive, and He restores us.

Usually, we see the restoration of God manifest after we have suffered for a “little” while (I Peter 5:10). Our definition of “little” and God’s definition usually varies. He will allow us to suffer consequences to discipline us (Heb. 12: 4-11). If the consequences weren’t painful, we probably wouldn’t learn the lesson and would repeat cycles of destruction.

The quickest path to restoration is immediate repentance and diligence in seeking His heart and face, praising Him in the midst of our suffering. It is also important to remember that God did not cause our pain, we did by choosing sin over obedience to Him. We must take accountability, forgiving anyone who may have caused us to stumble and forgiving ourselves. The quicker we let the issue go and return our focus onto God the quicker we move through the restoration process.

Restoration often extends beyond us into past, present and future generations. When generational sins enters a family tree, it can take decades for God to restore us and our family members. This is because there has been so much dysfunction over time. For example, if we were raised in dysfunction for 18 or so years, it may take at least that long to overcome the multitude of issues and get us on track with God’s divine destiny, depending on the level of intensity and amount of areas affected.

Generational restoration is often a process that begins with forgiving our forefathers for their iniquities, repenting for walking in the same sins as they and asking God to help us walk in new ways. This process usually occurs in layers, as in peeling an onion. In such cases, God can accelerate the restoration process by using ministries that specialize in this area or even by miraculous touches from Him.

God will often restore us “suddenly,” as He did in the many creative miracles and physical healings we read about in the Gospels. God is indeed the same yesterday, today and forever (Heb. 13:8). He still heals today as He did during Biblical times. He is sovereign, and He does not change. He loves us no matter what. But remember, even those who experienced “instant” miracles first suffered for a “little” while, which may have felt like an eternity to them.

God’s restoration offers us liberty from oppression and the freedom to reach our divine destiny in divinely appointed times. The more baggage we overcome and the more Godly the way we process hurts and injustices, the more space we have within us to receive His love, the more room we have within us for God’s presence to live, the more we are able to honor and glorify Him. The more space we offer Him to reflect His love through us, the more ways God can use us to share His love in the marketplace, just like Jesus did.

God has much in store for those who will submit to His restoration process. What will we choose? Will we choose to hold onto our familiar bondages and limit the hand of God from working in us and through us, closing out many of His finest blessings? Or will we choose to return to His joy of salvation and exercise a willing spirit?