“… the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
To proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness the prisoners,…
To comfort all who mourn.
And provide for those who grieve…
To bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness instead of mourning and a garment of praise instead of a garment of despair.”
Isaiah 61:1-3
Things get broken in this world — relationships, dreams, lives. Life can deal us some hard blows. We may feel defeated, confused, lost and unloved. We may think we can never get back up and start over, but guess what? We have a God that is a Great Restorer.
We are reminded of this in several passages of scripture. Psalm 23:3 says “He restores my soul”. Psalm 40: 1-3 talks of being lifted from a slimy pit and being set on a rock and given a new song to sing. 1 Peter 5:10 gives us another promise that after suffering, comes restoration; it says that Christ will restore us and make us “strong, firm and steadfast”.
Yes, trouble will come and we may even feel defeated, but, we have a loving Father and Savior that will give us hope and assurance. We can join with the Psalmist and confidently make this request to our Lord – “Restore me to the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit to sustain me.” Psalm 51:12
We can read the Messianic chapter 61 of Isaiah and know that this message of restoration is for us too.
Thank you Lord for your goodness and kindness and willingness to make all things new!