Restoration Is A Process

Lamentations 5:19-22  -  You, O Lord, remain forever; Your throne from generation to generation.  Why do You forget us forever, And forsake us for so long a time?  Turn us back to You, O Lord, and we will be restored; Renew our days as of old,  Unless You have utterly rejected us, And are very angry with us!

 

The last words from the great prophet Jeremiah are a great reminder of the consistency of God’s promise to be with us through every moment of our lives. His throne was set up to be forever…through every generation.  Even when we leave him for a time and live in our own selfish shells of want and greed…he just waits on us to come back to him.

 

God’s plan always includes a time of restoration.  He might seem far away for a period of time…but he is not. He is waiting on us to decide to let him have complete control through every season that we must go through. He may lead us through some rocky waters from time to time…but the lessons we learn when we grab his hand on the other side are priceless.

 

It was so evident to my heart as I drove away from my parent’s home this morning in Sevierville Tennessee.  I was tracking back north to watch my youngest son play football in Northern Kentucky this afternoon. We have just come through a restful productive summer.  The season of fall is beginning to show the colors of the trees as they prepare for the winter months.   As they prepare to go to sleep they put on a most amazing display of color in the hills and valleys of the land they are planted.

 

While the snow paints them with sparkly white dust….and provides them with water through the cold harsh winter… they may feel the absence of warmth and nourishment.  However…we forget sometimes that God gave them and internal  clock that responds to the skies that will eventually warm as the sun tracks closer to our earth.  Their slumber is interrupted to bring a rush of spring flowers and new growth that are just as amazing as the colors of fall. Every 365 days….God restores his earth…just like he restores us when we realize how much warmth and nourishment he can provide us.

 

The seasons of our lives are much the same. We go through periods of productivity and happiness that resemble the fun of summer. Then God sends trials and tests to send us into a mode of fall. He is preparing us to withstand and lean on his nourishment throughout that harsh winter so that we don’t die…but bring forth those colors once again…and shine with all that new growth in the spring.

 

Father…thank you for the reminder that you are the one constant I can always depend on.  No matter what season you lead me through…you are always on the other side waiting to restore my confidence and love for all that makes you the creator of the world. Forgive me when I let myself get cought up in the fall of life too long…and forget that you are preparing me for another spring.  Help me to learn to feed even more on your word and pray more frequently to stay connected till the son comes back to warm me up once again.  Amen.