A friend shared an encouraging story that made me be in awe of God’s goodness once again. I hope that by my sharing it, you will also be inspired. I see it as a beautiful story of restoration and God’s faithfulness in providing.
What does restoration mean? Dictionary.com defines it as “a return of something to a former, original, normal, or unimpaired condition.” Restoration makes something new again, possibly even better than it was before. We see in Scripture several stories about restoration. Sometimes the restoration is in physical ways in our bodies, and sometimes it is in our spirits that get filled with joy or peace again when they have been lacking. Restoration can occur with inanimate objects like our houses or with relationships in our lives.
My friend’s text said, “I wanted to share a story about the ‘on time’ God whom we adore. Last week, I was praying for my relationship with my neighbor down the street to be restored. She is a Christian woman who suddenly dropped out of my life. We used to pray together, and last week I was keenly feeling the lack of our prayer time together. I prayed that the Lord would grace me with a prayer partner or restore the relationship with this woman. I thought I had done something to turn her away from me, and I didn’t understand what happened at all.”
“Last Tuesday evening, she texted me after YEARS (I found out later seven years) of silence! Her text said, ‘Hi neighbor, got time to talk tonight?’ My joy was off the charts, and our misunderstanding was resolved through His grace. If I hadn’t asked the Lord to make this right, I would still feel like I had done something wrong. We ended our conversation with plans to pray together!”
The Spirit is always “on time.”
Often times, isn’t the Spirit’s time not our time? How often do we have what we think is the perfect plan and timing for things in our life only to find out it didn’t work the way we thought? My friend prefaced this sharing by saying how she saw it as God’s perfect timing.
Yet I am confident I will see the Lord’s goodness while I am here in the land of the living. Wait patiently for the Lord. Be brave and courageous. Yes, wait patiently for the Lord. –Psalm 27:13-14 (NLT)
What a blessing it is to see the Lord’s goodness in our daily lives as we walk this earth. We wait patiently to see how the Spirit’s plan works events in our lives in perfect timing. We have confidence knowing that God wants the best for us and works out the best orchestrations for us. It gives us strength to grow in trust more and more.
The Spirit brings restoration.
The Spirit is timely in our lives. My friend, after seven years of silence, felt strongly that something was missing or broken in her relationship with her neighbor. She was in tune with the Spirit, bringing it to prayer.
For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of his Son. So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God. –Romans 5:10-11 (NLT)
The greatest restoration in all of history is the salvation we have through Jesus Christ, God’s Son. Our perfect relationship with God was broken through Adam and Eve’s act of eating from the tree of knowledge that God told them not to. In God’s mercy, grace, and great love, He still wanted unity with us. This restoration of oneness with God was made possible by Jesus’ coming to earth and then suffering, dying, and resurrecting three days later. God’s love at its finest!
The Spirit provides.
My friend was feeling the void of having a prayerful Christian friend close by to pray with. She brought her concern to the Lord and asked Him for a prayer partner or to restore the relationship with her prior one. What a beautiful prayer, open to different options!
“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.” –Matthew 7:7-8 (NIV)
When we ask in faith, in accord with God’s will, God will answer our prayers in the way that is best for us. We need to ask, seek, and knock as we share our hearts with the Lord. It is good to be honest with God, letting Him know our needs and concerns. The Spirit provides what we need, giving us what we are looking for as He opens doors in our lives. Our Father knows best. We get to walk in trust, knowing He is always with us.
The Spirit works everything out for our good.
I believe that the Spirit is always working out every step of our lives for us. Often we are unaware of all the little details that orchestrate the Spirit’s working.
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. –Romans 8:28 (NIV)
As we faithfully keep our focus on God daily, walking in His ways and loving Him with our whole hearts, we can be assured that everything is working out for our good. We have the freedom to let go of the control we think we have over events in our lives. There is freedom in knowing deep within us that God is sovereign and is working everything out perfectly in our lives. We will still encounter both the good and the bad, but we have the assurance that it is for our best.
Photo courtesy of New Life Church Collingwood under Creative Commons License (CC BY 2.0)
Be encouraged this week to…
…be grateful for the Spirit always being right on time.
…trust the Spirit, knowing His timing is perfect in all things.
…thank God for His loving plan of restoration by sending Jesus for your salvation.
…see what God is restoring, making even better, in your faith journey.
…see what the Spirit provides when you ask, seek, and knock.
…pray to the Spirit for something that needs to be restored in your life.
…praise God for something you saw Him work out in your life.
…reflect on how the bad is working out for your best.
Can you please help write an ending to this story? What story of restoration in your life can you share in the comment section below to encourage us all? Thanks in advance!
‘But I will restore you to health and heal your wounds,’ declares the Lord, ‘because you are called an outcast, Zion for whom no one cares.’ “This is what the Lord says: ‘I will restore the fortunes of Jacob’s tents and have compassion on his dwellings; the city will be rebuilt on her ruins, and the palace will stand in its proper place.’” –Jeremiah 30:17-18 (NIV)
**Note: I will take a week or two break from writing as I prepare to experience a new adventure with God's Love Illuminated being nominated for a Christian Literary Award. Feel free to visit this website anytime and read a reflection or two. God bless~
This is my story which Christine chose to relate to you. I was honored to read it here. Thank you, my treasured friend, and thank you, Lord, from whom all good things come!
Thank you so much for sharing this special story with me, Karen! I felt it was worthy of sharing to show God’s goodness. I am so grateful for God’s orchestration of two strangers meeting sharing the Lord from the very beginning. Thanks for being a special gift in my life. Love you~
I’m so proud and blessed to call you friend and sister in Christ! And how exciting to be nominated for the Christian Literary Award!! I’m still praying for restoration of my relationship with my sister. I’ve reached out as I’ve felt God’s nudging; but no response as of yet. That’s ok though. I know I’m on God’s time and know He also desires for our relationship to be restored. Hopefully soon I will be sharing how He has moved in His perfect time. Love in Christ!
What a kind comment to make me smile! Thank you for reading and sharing. Joining you in prayer that the relationship with your sister will be restored soon…in His perfect timing. Keep following His prompting as you do. Love you~
I so enjoyed this story of restoration. Seven years! The number SEVEN, biblically speaking, signifies “completion”. The Lord shows His perfect timing with reuniting these two prayer partner friends with the completeness of restoration! I have been praying daily for three years for restoration of my family and trusting my gracious Father to bring it to fruition in His same perfect timing.
Hello, Victoria…Thank you so much for reading and for sharing. Oh yes, I love that significance of SEVEN that you mentioned. I hope your restoration of family doesn’t take that long but as you said we trust it in the Father’s perfect timing. I’m joining you in prayer for that restoration. God bless!