Tag: restoration

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All Things Work Together, Even our Brokenness – Part 3

The Kedge Anchor
Photo by cottonbro on Pexels.com

Welcome back. In the last few weeks we saw how a broken pots could be restored and used again. Either by returning to its former function or by a transformation for a different purpose. Last week the pot broke to the point where it could not be repaired and used as it once was to hold water for flowers. One piece had broken into tiny pieces that could not be put back together.

But that didn’t stop the potter from restoring it. The potter left that peice out creating a hole that was big enough to allow light to shine through when a candle ws placed inside. This light also allowed the potter to clean out corners of the house that were cluttered.

A few days later, the potter decided to make another pot. This one would be shorter and wider to hold some tools. After completing the entire process of kneading, sculpting forming and firing, the potter decided he would use this pot to hold some of his tools and placed it on his work table. Until one day it was accidentally knocked over. This pot fell hard and from way up high. It was smashed into a million pieces unable to be put back together. But the potter was resourceful. He didn’t want to throw away the broken pieces, he like to restore and repurpose his work. So he took the fallen, crushed pieces and ground them down to a smooth, fine, silky sand.

He had an old wooden tray that he found in the corner he cleaned out. He took it out and filled it with the newly ground piece of pottery. He went out to his garden and picked  five smooth stones to place in the sand to make a rock garden. He picked up some twigs and smoothed them out to make a small rake. Now he had something to calm his mind on stressful days. 

All these three pots had a specific purpose. After they were broken one was restored and able to be used as it once was, to hold flowers. One was broken but once restored it had a different purpose to shine light, the last one even though the peices we shatered beyond repair it was transformed for an entirely different use, to calm and bring peace.

Can you relate to the brokenness of these pots? Do you identify with the brokenness? How has your brokenness transformed you. Were you once so broken you couldn’t function like you used to? God can work through your brokenness and restore you to full capacity and more beautiful. Sometimes He uses our brokenness to help others, to help shine His light through the holes in our lives so that others will know Him. Sometimes we think our brokenness is so far gone that we could never be used again for anything. But God can work ALL things together for good for those who love Him – Romans 8:28.

The brokenness hurts, the tranformation can hurt as God molds us and restores us. But we were created by Him, for Him to glorify Him and God can use anyone and anything to restore us so that we can shine His light in this lost world. Invite God into your brokenness allow Him to restore you. He is our HOPE!

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All Things Work Together, Even our Brokenness – Part 2

The Kedge Anchor
Photo by Ahmed Aqtai on Pexels.com

Where has your brokenness brought you? Are you seeking to heal? Maybe you are in the process of healing. Healing can look different for everyone. We all heal differently and at our own pace, there are no time limits. It takes time.

Last week we saw how the potter formed a pot to hold flowers. And as life goes, accidents happen. The pot fell and broke. But the potter still had plans for the broken pot. After putting it back together the cracks had formed an interesting pattern. The potter painted those cracks to create a beautiful design to compliment the pot’s structure and the pot was able to function again holding water for beautiful flowers.

The potter decided that he wanted another pot. And so he started the process over again. Pounding and kneading the clay to get all the air out. His plan for this pot was to be bigger and taller to accommodate the flowers bursting from his garden and to compliment the first pot and add more contrast to the room. And so he began to form the clay on the potter’s wheel, adding pressure and water to cool the surface.

After the pot was completed, the potter added some water and fresh flowers and placed it on  a window sill. One day, the pot accidentally fell onto the floor. Broken into pieces the potter bent down to gently pick up the pieces. There was one piece that broke into tiny pieces he could just not put together. But he continued anyway. That one piece left a hole right in the middle of the pot. The edges were asymmetrical and rough so the potter got some sand paper and smoothed out the edges and made the hole a little more symmetrical.

The potter had some candles that had been burnt down, making them the perfect fit for inside the pot. He placed the candle on a shelf in a dark corner of the room, illuminating the the house. Things seemed brighter and he realized how often he has stumbled in that corner of the room. But now he could see clearly and he saw the clutter in that part of the room that made him stumble so he cleared it out. The room is more beatiful now with the light from the candle, the decorated pots and now the clutter is gone.

Can you relate to these pots? Has your life been broken into pieces? Do you need light shed on the dark corners of your heart where you stumble and sin? Do you need restoration? Do you need healing and restoration? Stay tuned for next week, there’s more to this story.

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Joy of the Lord is My Strength

The Kedge Anchor
Photo by Alexandr Podvalny on Pexels.com

Nehemiah 8:10 – “… the joy of the Lord is your strength.” Ever wondered what that really means? How can the the Lord’s joy be our strength? Well, first we need to look at the who, when, where and why of the passage. We need to read the chapters and verses before it. So, let’s journey through the passages.

Most scholars believe The book of Nehemiah was written by Nehemiah himself. Nehemiah exhibited exceptional leaderships qualities and he was a man of prayer. He depended deeply on God and knew how to draw strength and assurance from Him. Nehemiah was a volunteer of sorts. He was deeply affected by the dismal state of Jerusalem and I believe God used this to move Nehemiah forward in rebuilding the wall and spiritually restoring the people of Israel.

“… the joy of the Lord is your strength

Nehemiah 8:10

Without going into too much background, I just want to look at verse 10 – “Nehemiah said, “Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” How does the Lord’s joy give me strength?

Chapter 8 starts with Ezra, a leader of the Jews on the first day of the seventh month read the law to an assembly of people, men, women and children, and all who were able to understand. As they listened to Ezra the people began to weep for they knew how disobedient they had been to God. This was known as the Feasts of Trumpets. Everyone was to stop working and remember the Lord. Everyone started out praising and worshipping God. As Ezra continued to read the law, they wept and mourned because they became aware of how disobedient they had been. The reading and receiving of the law was to be a joyous time. God’s Word has the power to convict, convert and revive and we can be joyous when we are convicted because true conviction leads to repentance and restoration with God. “For the kind of sorrow God wants us to experience leads us away from sin and results in salvation. There’s no regret for that kind of sorrow. But worldly sorrow, which lacks repentance, results in spiritual death.” – 2 Corinthians 7:10 (NLT). When we repent and change we are restored and that brings us JOY! GOD’S JOY!

How happy are you when someone you’ve hurt forgives you? Have had to repent to someone for hurting them, especially someone you love? When you realize what you have done and feel bad, or sorrowful and want to make things right, you go to that person, apologize and ask for forgiveness. When that person forgives you, you both are so happy and the relationship is restored. How happy have you been when someone apologizes for hurting you?

In Zepahnaih 3:17 – The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves.
He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing.” God is love – 1 John 4:8 & 16 1 John 4:8 – But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love. 1 John 4:16 – We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love. God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them.  John 3:16 – For God so Loved the world, He gave His only Son (paraphrased).

He will take great delight in you … will rejoice over you with singing.’

Zepahnaih 3:17

All we have to do is receive that forgiveness and His love!!! He takes joy in us when we turn from our sin and and are deeply sorry for what we have done. It is a time of restoration and a time to celebrate like people did in verse 10 of Nehemiah. Because God is joyful in my repentance I can draw strength from that.