A Restoration Invitation
“ restore…the years that the locust have eaten.” Joel 2:25
“Behold, I make all things new.” Rev. 21:5
There is a special weekend getaway that my husband and I like to frequent. It’s an old Victorian home that has been restored to its original condition and turned into a lovely bed and breakfast. We honeymooned there twelve years ago, and ever since then, it has held a place in our hearts.
It is almost difficult not to stare at its beauty. The moment you step through the front door you are transported back in time. I delight in walking across creaking floors, opening heavy wooden doors with their brass doorknobs and keyholes, and feasting on colorful wallpaper and stained glass windows that entertain the eyes. All twenty-two rooms have been restored to their original condition.
While doing a Bible study with my teenage daughter and her girlfriend, I was reminded through some of their questions, of just how my life was at their age, before Jesus. Though my Lord could see the beauty in me, I had allowed sin to tear down the colorful wallpaper of my heart, even allowing some to vandalize those things dearest to me and to Him. Many doors I slammed shut and locked, hoping that none would ever venture to peek inside.
Teenage girls and even adult women can fall into the trap of believing that our mistakes and poor choices will keep our lives from being beautiful again. We believe the whispers that tell us; we can never take away the marks left behind by the dark mistakes we have made.
Lies, all lies.
God can “ restore…the years that the locust have eaten.” Joel 2:25 He loves to do the impossible. “Behold, I make all things new.” Rev. 21:5 He tells his children. I know His word to be true because I have seen it happen in my own life.
Friends, God is the great restorer of beauty. He takes what was once dirty, defiled, and shameful and creates in us a clean, pure, dwelling place for His grace-filled refined royal elegance. A heart that can now stand before him, the King of Kings.
I find great joy in entering a building that’s been restored to its original condition. I find the same joy in watching teenage girls and women of all ages, come to know the great restorer of their souls. He lives and reigns to bring hearts back to their original condition. Won’t you invite Him in today, to work on yours?
Lord, thank you that you make all things new. Help me to see that you are a God that doesn’t expect perfection, only a willing heart. Forgive me for trying to fix things myself. I give you the hammer and nails Lord, change me from the inside out. Make me new again. Restore my soul.
How fitting that my anti-spam word is Grace on this devotion 🙂
Yes, God can take us and renew us from the inside out. Let our hearts be willing to be changed.
Thank you Joanne for the reminder that He can do marvelous things.
I’m so glad he can take the old and make it new. It is really amazing to think about that.