And I will cause the captives of Judah and the captives of Israel to return, and will rebuild those places as at the first.
Our Father who is in heaven, hallowed be Your name! We are so happy that we serve a God who restores! Please help us to dwell in that reality all the days of our lives, until we see You face to face! This is the joyful praise we offer You in the blessed name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Amen, Amen, and Amen!
Yesterday we began meditating on the blessing of restoration! We saw that before restoration could take place, healing had to do its job. The mind must first be healed before the body can be healed. So God is about to make a twofold restoration. Their minds must unlearn stubbornness and rebellion, in order to learn childlike obedience. They must learn to take delight in the things that God delights in. Can two walk together unless they be agreed” (Amos 3:3)?
The Lord would rather His children not have to suffer in order to learn the lessons, that in love, He is always trying to teach them! He said to Saul, the first king of Israel,
” ‘ “Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed than the fat of rams” ‘ ” ‘ ” (1 Samuel 15:22).
Why must you suffer the consequences of your disobedience, when all you have to do is follow My instructions? It would have been my delight if you had obeyed my word, rather than bring me a fold of sheep as sacrifice! My delight is not in your offerings, but in your obedience!
Yet God restores! He would bring them out of their captivity, and take them back to their homeland! He would also restore their dwelling, making it as good as before! It was because of their sin that they were in captivity. It was because of their sin that their walls were broken down and their cities destroyed. Yet in mercy, God was promising that He would make a complete restoration!
Today He offers to take you out of your captivity and make you return home. Then He will “rebuild” your dwelling place “as at the first.” That was a promise that God made to Israel of old when they were in captivity. Now you can make that promise yours!
What does your captivity consist of? What has you stuck, paralyzed, that you cannot realize the dreams that God has put in your heart? God will take you out of that situation and help you “come to your senses.” He will remind you of who you really are, not the person you thought you had become while in captivity! (See Luke 15:17 – 19).
Then, if you allow Him, He will guide you back to the place from which you were taken, and give you a new beginning! So, look up! You are blessed!