Scripture I'm reflecting on: Psalm 71:20-21
"You have allowed me to suffer much hardship,
but you will restore me to life again
and life me up from the depths of the earth."
"You will restore me to even greater honor
and comform me once again"
I was listening to a pastor speaking on the book of Job today, and as I reflected on it afterward I began thinking of all the stories in the Bible where God restores His people who have been wronged. But not by the human definition of restore. When we restore someone, we simply get them "back to even." Give them what they lost, and nothing more. God's definition of restore however, is a little different, and a lot better for us. The stories where God restores people not just with what they lost, but with so much more, are plentiful throughout the Bible. Job received double what he had. Numerous stories in the earlier Old Testament where the Isrealites received all they had lost and so much more. The woman who abanoned her crop for seven years and had it all and more returned.
Reflection:
This reflection of how God can restore us, restore us after we are wronged, restore us for time we have lost, has been a very comforting thought for me today. I struggle with time to time when I think about years that I've wasted away in the past. A couple of years in a job I hated. A couple of years in a bad relationship. Many years in my younger days that could have been better spent. But I'm learning that by having faith, that trusting God with your time, that I can have all these years restored. Time we spend with God, is time He gives us back, with so much more.
A quote I have had written down for some time now from a service I attended went like this, "Thinking about what you "should have done", keeps you from God's best." I can personally attest to this being 100% accurate. Nothing good ultimately comes out of looking back at what you "should've done." Whether its something small like missing a shot in a sport, or something major like making a poor life decision, sulking in what "could have been" will get you nowhere fast. The same goes for when you are wronged. Somone may have treated you poorly, wasting a bunch of your time. Someone may have tricked you, and took a job you deserved. When these times come, don't lay in a pool of self-pity. Stay faithful. Ask God for restoration. And continue to live in God's glory. The stories are endless of how God takes care of his people, and always restores us when we are wronged; as long as we stay faithful to Him.
Our minds seem to be trained to worry, sulk, and fill with anger when things don't go right. We have to find a way to shut off our minds in these situations, and just receive God. God will lead us in the right direction. And if we follow His lead, not only will we be restored, but we will have more joy than we had before we were wronged, before we made a mistake, or before we wasted away time.
Final Thought:
Nowhere in the Bible will you find a promise that we will have a perfect life, and never experience loss. But there are promises of restoration for those who are faithful. "Expect better when wronged." Feel like you wasted away years in a job where you were disrespected? Stay faithful, and God will accelerate years and provide you with even greater opportunites than you could've ever imagined. Feel like you wasted away years in a bad relationship. Stay faithful, and God will put somone in your life more beautiful than you could've ever imagined. Feel like someone has consistently wronged you? Stay faithful, and God will give you happiness that this other person will never be able to experience. Fallen under financial hardship through no fault of your own? Stay faithful, and God will not only restore what you lost, but give you so much more.
God takes care of those who are faithful to Him. You may feel you are "due" for some restoration. Stay faithful. And dont think you might be restored, that maybe God will take care of you, but KNOW that He will.
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