Whom heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began. Acts 3:21
Dear People Who Keep Company With God,
Restoration, along with its sister words revive and renew, is the language of hope. It is woven into the pages of the Bible, beginning in Genesis and carrying through to the end of the Book of Revelation. These words communicate the possibility of a fresh start, a new beginning that everyone needs at some point in their lives. They convey recovering something we loved but lost that was vital to our lives. Maybe it was a relationship, health, property, business, or an anointing you once carried. We all need to recover something or recover from something. We all long for a better life, a return to meaningful and purposeful living.
Rick Joyner made an outstanding observation about restoration. He wrote, “The entire Bible, except for just six chapters, is about restoration, the restoring of the earth and humanity from all the consequences of the fall. The only chapters in the Bible that are not about this are the first three and the last three.” Taking a close look, you will find that the last two chapters of the Bible are similar to the first two chapters. In Genesis chapters 1 and 2, there is a garden with food, family, rivers, and a tree of life. Revelation chapters 21 and 22 have the same things, but the garden has become a city. The Garden of Eden had the raw materials, such as lumber, minerals, rivers, precious stones, and metals needed to develop into the New Jerusalem city.
Years ago, I was in the midst of a season of loss and brokenness. I dreamed I was standing before an easel with an unfinished painting of a city that looked like a garden. I was the artist, and I was contemplating what to paint next. The artwork was my life. “We are God’s work of art created in Christ Jesus to live the good life as from the beginning God had meant us to live it.” (Ephesians 2: 10) The Holy Spirit assured me that He had already given me everything needed to complete the painting (2 Peter 1:4). Like standing water, our lives will become murky and stagnant when we pull back from the life God meant for us to live. The dream stirred me to rise and begin afresh with my life calling and purpose.
Not unlike a piece of artwork, restoration is a process. It may begin as an experience, encounter, or event. Still, as Peter’s words in Acts 3:21 and the whole of Scripture testify, we don’t master restoration overnight. Along the way, I learned the hard way not to waste my time pursuing things God didn’t want for me. Some things you lose are a blessing. Restoration of all things doesn’t mean God is going to give back everything or everyone you lost. It is what God has for you presently and moving forward that brings fulfillment. The truth is you are already a new creation in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17). We always have an opportunity for a new beginning regardless of our circumstances. God has made and is making all things new, and this includes you and me. This is the hope we carry.
Many Blessings, BW