Restoration
Mountains melting, a heap of ruins, an incurable wound, going barefoot and naked, rolling in the dust, and making yourself bald - all of this is found in the first chapter of Micah in the Old Testament. Great start for a great story, huh? It wasn't really the introduction I was hoping for when I opened my Bible to Micah this morning. The first three chapters of Micah are a little depressing to say the least, and the next two aren't much better. It's all about the sins of God's people and the destruction that awaits them. I was beginning to ask myself, What in the world is this doing in the Bible? What am I supposed to do with this? But then I began to read chapter 4.
"Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD...that He may teach us about His ways and that we may walk in His paths." (vs 2)
"In that day," declares the Lord, "I will assemble the lame and gather the outcasts...And the LORD will reign over them in Mount Zion." (vs 6-7)
"There you will be rescued; there the LORD will redeem you." (vs 10)
Suddenly, God opened my ears to hear a gentle whisper about the treasures buried in the somewhat confusing book of Micah: the theme of restoration. The first few chapters may be troublesome, but the climax of the story is in the middle of the book when God promises a restoration. Now I don't know if God orchestrates suffering or just allows it to happen, but I do know one thing for sure: God is definitely in the business of restoration.
I also find a theme of restoration in my life, the story that God has written for me. Time and time again, after seasons of trial and suffering, God has restored me in my brokenness and made me into something renewed.
With this being the Christmas season, I am also reflecting on the reason Christ came to this earth. Jesus came to restore! With His birth, the restoration of our relationship with God was also born. Because of His life, death, and resurrection, our very lives and beings were restored as Jesus reconciled us to Christ!
And isn't restoration also our hope for the future? We long for Christ's coming because we know that with His return comes restoration.
So as I reflect on this wonderful season of Christmas, I think about my Christ in the manger, those angels singing in the night sky, Mary holding the baby Son of God, and that bright star that testified to the new light shining in our world. And I also think about Micah. I think about his message of restoration, and I praise God for coming into the world to restore His relationship with His children. I praise Him for the promise of future restoration in heaven, and I praise Him for being the restorer today. He is in the restoration business right now, turning our ashes into beauty and our mourning into gladness, restoring our faith and our very relationships with God.
"Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD...that He may teach us about His ways and that we may walk in His paths." (vs 2)
"In that day," declares the Lord, "I will assemble the lame and gather the outcasts...And the LORD will reign over them in Mount Zion." (vs 6-7)
"There you will be rescued; there the LORD will redeem you." (vs 10)
Suddenly, God opened my ears to hear a gentle whisper about the treasures buried in the somewhat confusing book of Micah: the theme of restoration. The first few chapters may be troublesome, but the climax of the story is in the middle of the book when God promises a restoration. Now I don't know if God orchestrates suffering or just allows it to happen, but I do know one thing for sure: God is definitely in the business of restoration.
I also find a theme of restoration in my life, the story that God has written for me. Time and time again, after seasons of trial and suffering, God has restored me in my brokenness and made me into something renewed.
With this being the Christmas season, I am also reflecting on the reason Christ came to this earth. Jesus came to restore! With His birth, the restoration of our relationship with God was also born. Because of His life, death, and resurrection, our very lives and beings were restored as Jesus reconciled us to Christ!
And isn't restoration also our hope for the future? We long for Christ's coming because we know that with His return comes restoration.
So as I reflect on this wonderful season of Christmas, I think about my Christ in the manger, those angels singing in the night sky, Mary holding the baby Son of God, and that bright star that testified to the new light shining in our world. And I also think about Micah. I think about his message of restoration, and I praise God for coming into the world to restore His relationship with His children. I praise Him for the promise of future restoration in heaven, and I praise Him for being the restorer today. He is in the restoration business right now, turning our ashes into beauty and our mourning into gladness, restoring our faith and our very relationships with God.
Comments
Post a Comment