We are now on Day 2 of our series, Lessons from Psalm 23! Last time, we talked about how to rest your mind and stop worrying by trusting God our good Shepherd, the one who takes care of us. Today, I want to speak about how God wants to restore you. We can be very worried sometimes and we end up making very bad decisions that affect not just us, but our loved ones as well. We end up losing a lot but God wants to restore us. God not only wants to restore what you had, but more importantly, He wants to restore your spirit, your heart.
We worry too much that we get so tired at the end of the day. When we worry, we forget other things that we’d like to do, and we tend to neglect ourselves. We spend so much time trying to earn more money, or doing things to please others that we even forget what we want the most. We forget who we really are as we struggle to stay afloat.
Dear friend, that is not what God wants for you. God not only wants to provide for you, but he also desires to make you whole again. He wants to restore you. Here’s what verse 3 says:
Our soul is what gives us life and meaning. It is the sum of who we are, what we like, what we love, and how we feel about the things that happen around us. When we were kids, we always talk about what we want to be when we grow up. We have dreams and ambitions and there were no limits on who we think we can become.
But when we become adults, we start facing more responsibilities like paying our bills, tuition, providing for our families, and the list goes on. We start worrying as we find life becoming more difficult each day. When that happens, we start losing our vision for the future as we continue to deal with more pressing issues and deadlines. We also run into people who break our hearts and even our spirits.
Good thing, God is able to take care of the things that trouble us. What’s more, he wants to restore to us what we have lost along the way. Here are some more things that God can do as we trust in Him:
God wants to restore your soul.
As we continue trusting God for our daily needs and concerns, we can also trust him to restore and refresh us, and even restart our lives. We can begin to think about our passions again, like writing or traveling, or spending quality time with family and friends.
When we are worry-free, we are also free to spend more time in meditating on a Gods Word. I love how the psalmist said:
“My life is stuck in the dirt. Now make me live again according to your promise!” Psalms 119:25 CEB
God wants to restore your honor.
Our judgment gets clouded when we worry too much, and we end up making very bad decisions. We also become more prone to those who want to take advantage of us, those who seem to offer help only to be able to take from us. We end up losing more in the end, and unfortunately, some people would even look down on us when this happens.
Psalm 23 says that God leads us to “paths of righteousness (justice, vindication)”. This is not about God teaching us to behave correctly, but it’s about God returning what is rightfully yours. One of the many names of God is “Jehovah Tsidkenu” -God our Righteousness – as mentioned in this verse:
“In His days Judah will be saved, And Israel will dwell safely; Now this is His name by which He will be called; ‘The LORD Our Righteousness.’ JEREMIAH 23:6 AMP
When you trust in God, He shows you the way that will surely bring justice to restore what you have lost. He also clears you of any shame or blame and returns you to your rightful position of honor. Isn’t that amazing! Not only does God provide so you don’t have to worry, but He also gives you a way to become whole again. He is truly an awesome and loving God!
Think of people or circumstances that have left you weary and broken, causing you to think about giving up on life. Keep trusting in God to lead you and expect life to turn around and become better. Who knows what God will do for you!
Thanks again for being with me on this series. If you missed Day 1, please visit my previous post on how to rest your mind.
I would love to hear from you! Please leave a comment to let me know how this has been helpful for you, or to share about areas where you need to trust God more.
I hope that you have been refreshed by God’s word!
With love,
Mae