Day One: Is God Willing to Restore Me?
Welcome. I’m so glad you are here. You have arrived at the First Day of a five-day reading plan investigating the question: Can God restore me? It’s a really important question that many hold deep within, and may only have the courage to ask themselves. Here, we are just going to get it all out in the open. And if the dialogue here brings up more questions, don’t hesitate to post them. Let’s be a community that helps one another in the struggle.
Let me tell you about the structure. First, you will be introduced to the Scripture for the day. The devotional material will follow. You can also enjoy a version of this reading plan at Bible.com or on th
e app, YouVersion. The benefit of finding it here is that we have the ability to add Bonus Material and communicate with one another.
So let’s get started.
Scripture
from the end of the earth, I call to you when my heart is faint. Lead me to the rock that is higher than I, Psalm 61:2
When the righteous cry for help, the LORD hears and delivers them out of all their troubles. Psalm 34:17
He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Psalm 23:3
You who have made me see many troubles and calamities will revive me again; from the depths of the earth you will bring me up again. Psalm 71:20
“I will strengthen Judah and save the tribes of Joseph. I will restore them because I have compassion on them. They will be as though I had not rejected them, for I am the LORD their God and I will answer them. Zachariah 10:6, NIV
Devotional Material – Is God Willing to Restore Me?
It’s a legitimate question. Can I be restored? Me–a person drowning in selfishness? Can a mistake-ridden, routinely faithless and habitually untrustworthy gal like me be offered the prospect of a fresh beginning, again? Am I even worth the trouble?
The more personal and piercing question might be, “Is God willing to restore me?”
Would He WANT to do it in the first place?
Not only is this a legitimate trail of questions to ponder, it’s a haunting one.
How many times have you heard similar accusatory notions floating through your own thoughts? You can’t just dismiss them. Oh, you and I can cover them up with our To-Do lists or blaring music. But the pain is searing when that little voice whispering inside communicates, you might not be worth it.
What do we do when we feel we are too far gone or when we fear we might have done “it—that dreaded sin” one too many times? Maybe we have been too irreverent for a holy God; too overcome by our own failures to find hope; or too defeated to raise our heads? What if we feel we are too wrecked for God to restore?
We trust in the unfailing truth of the Bible.
The Psalms identify with our human frailties and point us in the right direction. We learn we are not the first to feel this way or the only ones to ever encounter defeat, faithless living, sinful behaviors and a sense of hopelessness.
When our hearts are faint, we can look to “the rock that is higher” than us (Psalm 61:2). To God, we can cry out, and He hears us (Psalm 34:17). And when it comes to restoration, David assures us, “He restores my soul” (Psalm 23:3). Literally David attributes God as enabling his life to return to him. He also restores that part of him that can become exhausted, worn out, anxious or broken down due to the heaviness of continually facing whatever life brings (Psalm 71:20). David assures us it is God who restores, bringing back the vigor. Within a few chapters, he cries out for God to do it AGAIN!
What we learn from David is that if you are feeling like you might not be restoring potential—convoluted with defeating thoughts communicating you might not be worth the trouble—there is hope.
Hope is here because Your God restores.
Click here to enjoy this reading plan on YouVersion (or Bible.com).
Other popular reading plans
