5:93 – You are restored

#faithbites #faithjourney restored

Intro

Today’s church service focused on restoration and being restored. We talk about restoring cars, houses, businesses, downtowns, but do we talk about restoring ourselves? When I think about my life as a restoration project, it remind sme of the 1990s Under construction signs that were in websites. They always had it because they were always being updated and never finished. That’s how I feel when I think about God working on me.

Questions

• What does being restored mean to you?
• When you are improving yourself, do you have an idea of the end product?
• If not, how do you know when you’ve finished?

Scripture

Isaiah 35:1-10

The desert and the parched land will be glad;
the wilderness will rejoice and blossom.
Like the crocus,2 it will burst into bloom;
it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy.
The glory of Lebanon will be given to it,
the splendor of Carmel and Sharon;
they will see the glory of the Lord,
the splendor of our God.

3 Strengthen the feeble hands,
steady the knees that give way;
4 say to those with fearful hearts,
“Be strong, do not fear;
your God will come,
he will come with vengeance;
with divine retribution
he will come to save you.”

5 Then will the eyes of the blind be opened
and the ears of the deaf unstopped.
6 Then will the lame leap like a deer,
and the mute tongue shout for joy.
Water will gush forth in the wilderness
and streams in the desert.
7 The burning sand will become a pool,
the thirsty ground bubbling springs.
In the haunts where jackals once lay,
grass and reeds and papyrus will grow.

8 And a highway will be there;
it will be called the Way of Holiness;
it will be for those who walk on that Way.
The unclean will not journey on it;
wicked fools will not go about on it.
9 No lion will be there,
nor any ravenous beast;
they will not be found there.
But only the redeemed will walk there,
10 and those the Lord has rescued will return.
They will enter Zion with singing;
everlasting joy will crown their heads.
Gladness and joy will overtake them,
and sorrow and sighing will flee away.

Reflection

God gives us a very specific idea of what the land with look like when it is restored. He also tells us what we will feel like. No pain, no struggle, no sickness. John says the same in Revelation, when he says God will wipe away every tear.

As we close, remember that God is always working on us. He will never stop restoring and working on us. The best part, unlike a restoration project at home, it doesn’t cost anything. His love and master craftsmanship is free to all who love and accept him.

Prayer

Father God, thank you for your love and your consistent promises. You never leave us and you never fail to fufil your promises. Thank you for giving us your image of a restored Earth and a restored us. Help us to follow you, grow, and share your love with all. In your name, Amen..