Submitted by Lara Cook Some material taken from Psalm 23 by Jennifer Rothschild
Restoration
He restores my soul – what does that truly mean? It truly means something beautiful. When I think of personal restoration, I think of a day on the couch, resting. Allowing myself some much-needed time to recoup the toll that stress and life in general takes on us. He restores my soul is close, but a little different. It involves recouping what has been lost and destroyed, bringing it back to life, resurrecting.
When we stray from Him, we cannot find our way back without His grace. He comes after us when we don’t have the strength to rescue ourselves. When we can’t return to Him on our own, He rescues us. Every time we wander, He brings us back, over and over again. In His marvelous grace, He makes us alive in Him, and restores our soul.
He doesn’t just bring us back, He gives us back what our wanderings have taken from us. It may not happen immediately, or exactly as before, but He eventually restores what we lost. When He restores us, he doesn’t just restore in part, He restores our whole being.
When we wander from Jesus, who gives us everything we need, we will find nothing we need.
We lack nothing in Him, but without Him, we lack everything we need – spiritually, emotionally, physically, and mentally.
We lack nothing in Him, but without Him, we lack everything we need – spiritually, emotionally, physically, and mentally.
Paths of Righteousness
Our paths in life are determined by our destination. When we have a relationship with God, His glory should be our goal – our destination. So whatever path He puts us on, the destination is His glory. It is through Gods restoration of grace that He leads us to the right paths. His grace restores us, puts us on the right path, keeps us on the right path, sustains us, and strengthens us. We need that grace and all it offers because some of our paths in life are very rocky.
Our paths in life are determined by our destination. When we have a relationship with God, His glory should be our goal – our destination. So whatever path He puts us on, the destination is His glory. It is through Gods restoration of grace that He leads us to the right paths. His grace restores us, puts us on the right path, keeps us on the right path, sustains us, and strengthens us. We need that grace and all it offers because some of our paths in life are very rocky.
The Shepherd is always leading us, even when it feels like we are on the wrong path. Right paths can feel wrong because it may be stressful or difficult, but God has a reason for leading you on this path. Your path has purpose. We can also feel stuck on our path at times and question our path. When we are on a path that seems mundane, like day after day of wiping little noses and feeding and bathing children, it can seem pointless but there is great purpose on your path. And some paths hold sudden surprises or tragedy that take us by surprise. Many paths in life fulfill great purposes for God’s glory, but at the time it doesn’t feel great to us. Romans 11:36 says For from Him and through Him and for Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever! Amen. Any path that brings glory to God will always eventually be for our good.
Scripture to Claim:
But the path of righteousness is like the light of dawn that shines brighter and brighter until the full day. Proverbs 4:18
But the path of righteousness is like the light of dawn that shines brighter and brighter until the full day. Proverbs 4:18
