Restoration

As we age, our bone cells start to age and lose strength. This results in osteoporosis and brittle bones. The medical community has many answers to this problem, but one catches my attention. They have found that weight bearing exercise increases new bone production and thus strengthens bones.

What interests me is the process. When you perform a weight bearing exercise, such as weight lifting, you put stress on the bone. This stress creates a series of tiny cracks. These cracks call the body into action. Bone marrow produces new bone cells to go and fill in the cracks. With each crack that is filled in, the bone is renewed. Old weak cells are replaced by new strong cells. After a time, the bone itself is no longer weak and easily broken.

Psalm 23:3 "He restores my soul"

Restoration. That is a beautiful concept. The idea of taking something that is worn, tired, and broken and bringing it back to vibrant life.

The Psalmist tells us that God is in the restoration business. He takes our old, broken lives, riddled with pock marks and scars and He rebuilds us until we are shining, beautiful, and new. He cleans off the filth of our sins, sands down the rough edges of our temperament, reconstructs broken hearts, and replaces our old nature with a new nature.

Although well within His right, God does not ask us to wear a badge for each sin. Can you just imagine if He added a visible notation of each sin. I would never have to wear clothes again, I would be completely covered. Imagine the following situation:

Paula: "Oh look, here comes that girl again."
Sarah: "Yeah, and look I think she has a new badge."
Paula: "How can you tell? She's absolutely wrapped up in them."
Sarah: Snickering behind her hand. "Well, just look at her, it is right on her forehead!"
Paula: Beginning to grin. "Ooo, that's a good one. I can't believe she did that!"

Can you just imagine how terrible it would be to be clothed in our mistakes. We would be left weakened, dirty, ridiculed, and depressed. But God, in His infinite graciousness, does not advertise our sin. He wipes it away. When we confess our sin, exposing a broken hearted condition, God comes in and restores. He makes us as if we are new. Clean. Innocent. Whole.

We have nothing to hide. He does not slap a thin coat of paint over our sin to hide them. He removes them. We are not defined by our sins. I am not the lying, cheating, hateful, adulterous woman. I am simply Graced, a new creation. Restored!

The other beautiful thing about this passage is the tense of the word "restores". Unlike English that has a past, present, and future tense, Hebrew (the language of the Old Testament) uses just two. One means a past, completed action. The other indicates a continuing action. Here God is expressing His intention to us. He will continually restore with no end in sight. This is not a one time deal, "get it right, or get out."

His lovingkindness is everlasting!

Let Him restore your soul. Be renewed and strengthened. Allow your sin to be removed from you as far as the east is from the west without you running to label yourself again.

Rest in peace!