14 | REVIVAL THROUGH RESTORATION

Happy New Month! I pray this month brings you blessings, joy, success and peace.

January was the new year new me saga. Though there may have been times during last month where we have fallen or derailed off track of the new chapter and new beginnings we had been working on for this year.

Don’t be hard of yourself if this was the case. Rather go to God and seek for His restoration to be renewed.

I used to view the word restoration to be something to pray to God about only when I had committed sin, where I had side-tracked and was in the process of trying to get back on track and when overcoming past pain and in the stage of healing. When I sought for restoration from God, I would pray using the words of Psalms 51 which states:

Have mercy upon me, O God, According to Your lovingkindness; According to the multitude of Your tender mercies, Blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity And cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions, And my sin is always before me. Against You, You only, have I sinned, And done this evil in Your sight- That You may be found just when You speak, And blameless when You judge. Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, And in sin my mother conceived me. Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts, And in the hidden part You will make me to know wisdom. Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Make me hear joy and gladness, That the bones You have broken may rejoice. Hide Your face from my sins And blot out all my iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away from Your presence, And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation And uphold me by Your generous Spirit. Then I will teach transgressors Your ways, And sinners shall be converted to You. Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God, The God of my salvation, And my tongue shall sing aloud of Your righteousness. O Lord, open my lips, And my mouth shall show forth Your praise. For You do not desire sacrifice, or else I would give it; You do not delight in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, A broken and a contrite heart- These, O God, You will not despise. Do good in Your good pleasure to Zion; Build the walls of Jerusalem. Then You shall be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness, With burnt offering and whole burnt offering; Then they shall offer bulls on Your altar.

Praying Psalm 51 brought me peace, it brought healing in knowing that we can find whole restoration in the Lord. He restores us wholly and makes us anew. He purifies us to make us clean, whiter as snow. He restores His joy over us as He saves us. He saves us.

I’ve gone from citing this prayer when needed to citing in on a daily basis because it’s wanted. Without fail, Psalm 51 is cited each and every morning. Each morning creates a new day and so I taught myself to realise the importance of citing this chapter to myself on a daily basis in reaching out to God and seeking for His restoration as I encounter a new day. We never know what a day will hold, so starting it off being engulfed within God’s restoration, simultaneously, God’s grace, redemption, salvation and mercy is an important way to get ready for whatever the day will bring.

In seeking for God’s restoration, we remain purified and saved. Don’t forget that it’s not just citing the chapter we must also put it into action. So, we must both seek for God’s restoration and be actively discipline in our walk in faith to ensure we live a life that doesn’t fall short from receiving God’s restoration over our lives. I encourage you to take some time today to read through Psalms 51 and pray for restoration from God, make it a staple point in your life.

Restoration is the synonym to repair, rebuild, return and re-establish. To me, it is an indirect synonym to freedom. Freedom encompasses the ability to let go from the chains holding you down not allowing you to grow. As such, it gives you the opportunity to repair what had been broken, rebuild your foundation of growth, return to the environment of peace and progress and re-establish yourself from the old you and into the person to which you have been created to become and be.

We have the capability to free ourselves from the things no longer deserving of us, but such capability can be limited to our human strengths. So where do we go to obtain the ultimate, limitless freedom? We already know the answer, but I’ll count to three so we can say it together. Ready: 1, 2, 3 GOD. GOD is the one who frees. God is the one who sets us free. God is the essence of freedom.

To be free is the principle of restoration. It is the gift of receiving God’s salvation and redemption to overcome what and who was making your life to become still and limited and replace yourself back onto the path towards better environments. Restoration is not only a healer of pain, but it is also a freer from chains. Understanding that using these words: restoration, healer and freer are direct synonyms to God.

God restores.

God heals.

God frees.

When we seek for restoration, when we seek for freedom, we are seeking for God to work in our lives. We are seeking for Him to take control and navigate ourselves back onto the path He created for us. We shouldn’t be quick to blame others for our downfalls. We shouldn’t be quick to create a façade over the truth of the matter that we caused the chains that wrapped itself around us to try and take away our freedom. Our minds shouldn’t race to stain someone else’s character as we try to remain clean. No. It’s a hard pill to swallow in admitting our wrongs but that’s why we must turn to God as He is the water of life to help us to admit these wrongs, seek change and do better- it literally says so in Revelations 21:6- And He said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts. Take that first step to look into the mirror, call out to God in confession, admit your wrongs and let go, seek for His freedom and become ultimately restored by His grace.

I wanted to end this episode with a prayer. Maybe it may speak to you to know what to say when seeking for God’s restoration. Maybe you may find the courage to use the words as a prayer over yourself and the things you are seeking for God to restore. Overall, I pray it provides you the peace to rest assured in faith knowing that this time of pain and suffering is for a season and not a lifetime. God will restore, He will establish, He will strengthen, and He will support you in your time of healing and process of overcoming. He already is.

Hi Lord, it’s me again. Your Child. You and I both know how life has been recently. I’ve been struggling, I’ve been trying to find the strength to continue but failed to find it. I’m tired of doing things in my own strength. I’m sorry for not coming to you sooner. I know all things is possible through you but sometimes my humanly instincts make me feel I know better. How wrong was I. Nonetheless, I come to you now Lord, I enter into your presence in faith as I seek for your grace, redemption, salvation and mercy over me. You’ve heard my weeps; you’ve felt my silent tears. I’m tired, but I refuse to give up. The bible says weeping may stay overnight, but there is joy in the morning. I know my joy is coming, it may not be in sight right now, but I know it is. In this process, in this journey as I move forward to find my joy, I pray you continue to keep me. I pray you heal me. I pray you help me as I consistently continue to overcome the things life may throw at me. I pray for your establishment of blessings and glory over my life. I pray for your strength as I push through and persevere through it all. I pray for your support at all times, especially in my time of need. I pray for your restoration. Sometimes I feel I may not be deserving of your restoration, especially when I knew prior to a situation happening that I was not supposed to be in that place, for that situation, with said people. I gave into my fleshly instincts and disregarded my spiritual discernment. Forgive me Lord. Forgive me for the times where I led myself astray, moving away from the path that you had set before me. I pray for your restoration over me and my life Lord. I pray you make me anew. I pray you mend my brokenness. I pray for your forgiveness. I have got a lot to work on, but I remain in faith knowing that you will be there for me and with me, every step of the way, as you Lord are my constant. Thank you for you Lord. Thank you for your time spent with me today, right now, in this moment of prayer. In Jesus Name, Amen.

Remember, Trust in the Lord, Love like the Lord, Walk with the Lord.TLW

who do we follow? thelawdsway