Thursday, September 22, 2022
Repent therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus, whom heaven must receive until the time for restoring all the things about which God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets long ago. Acts 3:19-21
In Need of Healing and Restoration
This coming Sunday Brother Van is going to be talking about restoration. Our God is a God of restoration and that it is greatest desire for us – to be restored in our relationship to Him, receiving His mercy, forgiveness, salvation, and gift of eternal life.
I was 53 years old before I ever began to heal from some of the things in my past. It was not until then that I began to ask myself why I do some of the things I do, feel the way I feel, and allow the things I allow. I always just believed that I was broken, and honestly hopeless. I would never be different. I would never be better. And I certainly have not arrived but today I have hope. If I were being honest with you – I would say that this afternoon I could feel different, but even when I feel different, I never entirely lose that glimmer of hope.
I believe that we all need to heal from something, and we either are on the path to healing, or we are not. I also believe that healing is an ongoing lifetime process. Some days there is blessed relief and some days are absolutely miserable and I couldn’t tell you why. They just are. Like sanctification, healing and restoration are never complete until we are at home in heaven. This life on earth is full of triggers and things that can jerk the scab off before we know it.
Healing is a long process and even though I know I am making progress, there are the days when I feel like I have lost much of what I have gained along the way. That is the nature of it. Then the fog lifts and I am reminded – like this song says – of the truth. God heals and restores. He walks the journey with us and carries us when we need Him to. He speaks truth in the face of the lies that fill our heads and hearts, and His love heals the pain.
Some of you may need to start the healing and restoration process. Healing is necessary for restoration to take place. If you have a hole in the wall, you have to patch the hole before you paint the wall. God desires to heal our innermost places of pain – you know, the ones we have buried beneath the pile of proverbial garbage we have heaped upon it to cover it up. I have tried many things to take the pain away – compulsive behaviors and distractions that don’t work. The pain just festers and some of these behaviors add more pain on top of that. God is the only one. He is the only thing that can heal and restore the brokenness in our lives.
