The Message of Restoration

I recently had a conversation with the Father regarding the season of life I’ve found myself in. I confessed that I was finding this season challenging because it seemed like He had me spending so much time and energy focusing on myself and my life. Logically, I understand why; I’ve spent most of my life so focused on caring for others, that there are many areas of my life that are in ruins. I most certainly need the restoration that God is bringing!

I had to admit that I’m finding it painful to feel so full of the Word and many life-giving revelations, but I’m not currently spending as much time as I would like pouring that out onto others. However, the Father’s response to my reflections left me speechless. He said, “I’m empowering you to rebuild your life right now so that you don’t lose sight of the fact that the message of the gospel is for you first. You can’t give until you first receive.”

And suddenly, it was so clear why He has been leading me in the direction that He has. If my life is to be a message that reflects the truth of God’s Word and the abundant life that it brings, then I must first position myself to fully receive the power of the Kingdom in my life. I saw that while I may have a desire to fill my cup with the water of the Word, I don’t always allow myself to take the full drink that I need and receive my own portion of God’s refreshing. As with other areas of my life, I am quick to think about the needs of others while neglecting my own.

While self-focus can certainly be a concern in our fallen human nature, we must be careful to strive for balance in all things. For how can we carry the message of restoration, unless we first permit God to mend the fallen places in our lives? Now, this doesn’t mean that we have to have our lives completely together before we run with the message of the gospel. Instead, we must not lose sight of the fact that our life is the message. We become the tablet that God writes His Word upon.

The power of God’s Word is capable of bringing transformative power in our lives and at a level that is far higher than what we have seen in present times. We are not just here to share the testimony of saints of the past and those around us. We’re here to receive the Kingdom, and then testify to the abundant life that we find in Christ. When we fully receive the Word, we most certainly position ourselves to effectively pour it back out onto the world.

John 10:10 (NKJV) The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have [it] more abundantly.

Amos 9:11-15 (VOICE) After that happens, on the day I choose, I will rebuild the dilapidating house of David from its ruins, Mend the holes in it, rebuild its wreckage,and restore it just the way it used to be. Then they may possess what remains of Edom, including every person among the outsiders who have been called by My name.

[The Message of Restoration originally posted on Waiting in the Wings, reposted in its entirety with permission.]