By Meredith Satchwell, a sophomore nursing major from Carlock, Illinois
This week’s theme: God’s restoration is at hand. Come, walk in the way of God’s heart.
Restoration is the act of returning something to its original condition — making the old new and fixing the broken. Often when I think of restoration I think about fixing old buildings, restoring communities after disaster strikes or restoring broken friendships. I always picture someone with their tool belt and hard hat, hammering away, making something look beautiful again.
In fact, this is often how I imagine Jesus. God gave us Jesus, the great carpenter, to restore our hearts. Jesus isn’t scared of old, crumbling walls or rusty nails. He straps on his hard hat, grabs his chisel and gets right in the nitty gritty of things. Jesus sees the areas that are dangerous and in need of repair, points out the dry rot that our sins have eaten away at and breaks down the crumbling walls that we have been building our whole lives.
Sure, restoration can be painful at times, and it hurts to admit that you’re broken. Sometimes restoration creates detours and closed roads, but through that restoration, through that pain, we are renewed and refreshed. God fills the brokenness with love and hope. God’s heart aches when we are suffering or when we fall into sin. God is working tirelessly to restore our lives and bring us to our original pure form.
Don’t be afraid or discouraged when the “closed for thru traffic sign” goes up. Don’t give up hope; Jesus isn’t putting his hammer away. Praise God for the restoring hands of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!