He heals up the broken-hearted, and binds up their wounds. Psalm 147:3
Restoration reminds me of the TV shows that restore old homes back to their original glory! My wife and I love watching those shows. I even have a good friend that was the general contractor on one of those shows, and he was on HGTV!
The cool thing was I got a behind the scenes look at the show. and I even got to see the homes at the beginning stage of restoration, the middle and then the reveal at the end on TV.
And as I think about this stream of counseling and restoration coming from the garden of Eden, I believe just as my buddy helped in the process of bringing old mansions in Kansas City back to their original glory, it’s exactly what God is up to with our hearts and this idea of restoring things. God wants to heal us and restore our hearts back to their original glory!
Most people think Jesus just came to save us and forgive us of our sin, and that is a really good thing, but there is much more He came to do, while we live our lives on this earth.
“And I would heal them. Not just forgive them, but heal them.” Matt 13:15
Healing and restoration is the offer.
“And I would heal them.” That’s a different offer from: “And I would forgive them.” It’s a different offer from: “And I will give them a place in heaven.” No, Jesus is offering healing to us. Look at what he does to people who are broken. How does he handle them? The blind are able to see like a hawk. The deaf are able to hear a pin drop. The lame do hurdles. The corroding skin of the leper is cleansed and made new. The woman with the issue of blood stops hemorrhaging. The paralyzed servant hops out of bed. They are, every last one of them, healed. Now follow this closely: everything Jesus did was to illustrate what he was trying to say. Here—look at this—this is what I’m offering to do for you. Not just for your body, but more important, for your soul. I can heal your heart. I can restore your soul.” (Excerpt From Waking the Dead.)
I love this offer from God. Over the years studying ideas and concepts about the heart, has brought me deep clarity. Remember my last blog I was writing how my buddy and I were studying through a few books. One of the issues that surfaced was this wound I have from my father. From that father wound, came a message of unworthiness, then me living my young adult life trying to prove my worthiness.
One of the fruits of me seeking worthiness from others was me allowing the wrong people to validate me. And when I give the power of validation over to others, I also give them the power to invalidate me.
So, through counsel and prayer we uncovered a wound and a message. We then through prayer, asked God to heal this wound. Now, just because HGTV restores old mansions to their previous glory, and they do it well, doesn’t mean that same home won’t need new light fixtures down the road, or a new roof after a hail storm. The wear and tear a home takes requires continued work to maintain it’s glory and beauty.
The same is true for us. We will get some clarity around our wounds, and even see some deep restorative healing, but the wounds we take will surface again. And we have to be aware of that and just keen to it, and be equipped to fight against it.
That leads me to our next and final stream, spiritual warfare! It should be good!
Matt
Love the message of healing and restoration! Thx Matt!