Restoration

Restoration.
"Behold, I will do a new thing, now it shall spring forth; shall you know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness and rivers in the desert."- Isaiah 43:19
Judah was called upon to forget she struggled to be a nation among nations (1 Sam. 8:5,20). God had a new destiny. A new thing, this people group where being built through the historical process of captivity and return.
I believe that God works in coincidences, maybe they aren't coincidences at all but that is what we so often call it when God moves. God is moving always and right now He is moving in restoration. We have a whole "fixer upper" movement, there are countless T.V. shows dedicated to restoration. There are stores, businesses and incomes that fully rely on restoration. 

God is the author of restoration and we crave it. As flesh here on earth we rely on restoration. We want to be made new and once we are, we long to see everyone else find that same beauty. The beauty of captivity and return, of lost to found, dirty to clean and thirsty to satisfied. We long to see the world and all who live in it as Christ sees us, his children. " Of David. A psalm. The earth is the LORD's, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it." Psalm 24:1. God wants to do a new thing in us through restoration. 

(Before)

(After)

Is your paint chipped?

So often as women we have many insecurities about our appearances. We also tend to have some insecurities of our quirky personality traits. I know that I catch myself far to often worried about whether someone thought I was weird or not. I also catch myself staring into the mirror for a few extra minutes just to wrongfully judge myself, wondering if others see all the same flaws in me. I asked if you paint was chipped, is it? Is the way God created you holding you back? God gave you that nose and the snort sound it makes when you laugh too hard. Whatever the flaw is that you perceive in yourself, your perspective needs a new coat of paint.

Why is it so easy for us to paint a dresser and see it as a completely new piece of furniture but it can take us years to see ourselves differently? Sure there are many medical and psychological reasons, I do understand that. But, y'all, GOD MADE YOU. He doesn't make mistakes. The bible tells us how He see us and that is the only truth about ourselves. Others opinions and the way we see ourselves are muddled by our flesh. God says... I breathed into your nostrils the breath of life (Genesis 2:7). I created you in my own image (Genesis 1:27). My eyes saw your unformed substance (Psalm 139:16). I knit you together in your mother’s womb (Psalm 139:13). I know the number of hairs on your head, and before a word is on your tongue I know it (Matthew 10:30; Psalm 139:4). You are fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14). He, God, our Restorer knows and loves every inch of you. So, get out the paint brush of Gods word and start painting yourselves in a new perspective of who you truly are.

Do you have "good bones"?

"oh dry bones, hear the word of the Lord!: "surely I will cause breath to enter into you, and you shall live. I will put sinews on you and bring flesh upon you, cover you with skin and put breath in you; and you shall live. Then you shall know that I am the Lord."" Ezekiel 37:4-6.

As Christians we have the foundation of  the restoration story. The confidence that we were once dead and now we are alive, our hope comes from the Lord. But, how sturdy are your bones? Will they become dry in the valley?

I was given a family heirloom, a bed, my Great grandmother (Isla), my grandfather, father, me and now my daughter have been tucked snuggly into it over generations. The story goes that it even arrived in Florida via covered wagon and as much as this bed has moved over its many years, I have seen it taken apart and put back together many times without falter. It has "good bones". 

The bones that are referred to in Ezekiel are dry, there are no muscles, no skin. The bones, the foundation of the body were lying in that valley becoming hopeless and thirsty. The bones were dry, yes, but there waiting, becoming dryer and dryer in the sun of that valley, waiting. I have been in that valley too many times to count, unfortunately, I let my bones become dry there. Sometimes I got to that valley through busyness, sometimes through health, even through worry and fear. But, the valley is no place for me, for you, for us. When we find ourselves in that valley, hopeless, thirsty, waiting for change. Our good bones of the foundation of our restoration story are waiting for our flesh to return. With power of the Spirit of the Lord listen to what He did in verse 7 " there was a noise, and suddenly a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to bone, Indeed, as I looked the sinews and the flesh came upon them and the skin covered them over; but there was no breath in them." 
These bones were put together perfectly by God, therefor we can confidently know that they are "good bones". Often on our journey out of the valley we are just happy that our bones are back together, that our foundation was strong enough to be put back together and make it out.  However, "good bones" even covered by their flesh don't move.

The Heirloom bed, the bed that has been so special to my family for generations, the good bones aren't and never will be what makes the this piece of furniture so special. The breath of each child that prayed their goodnight prayers and woke up with hope of their future, that is what makes it so special and unique. "So I prophesied as He commanded me, and breath came into them, and they lived, and stood upon their feet". (vs. 14)

Stand up on your feet! You have the breath of God in you. When you are in the valley seasons of life stand up, be confident in your foundation, be confident that you have been restored, you have the good bones of the resurrection story. But, don't stop there, take a deep breath. Life is going to beat us up, it maybe doing it to you now. Let your dry bones come alive with the breath of your Savior. The valley is not for you and no place to live. I may have let health, busyness and fear take my hope, dry me up and leave me in the valley, but my Father tells me that He is my healer, my shepherd who guides me through the valley and I shall not fear. Now, move.