Truth and Restoration
The need for truth and restoration goes unseen as long as one does not realize or admit brokenness. When something captures my heart other than God, I lose the joy of His salvation. That is only restored by His grace and truth. Psalm 85:4-7 proclaims:
Restore us, O God of our salvation,
And cause Your indignation toward us to cease.
Will You be angry with us forever?
Will You prolong Your anger to all generations?
Will You not revive us and bring us to life again,
That Your people may rejoice in You?
Show us Your lovingkindness, O LORD,
And grant us Your salvation.
Yes God brings us to life again and we rejoice giving Him glory for His unfailing love. But Paul tells us that we also have a responsibility in restoration. In Galatians 6:1, he writes “Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted.”
The word “caught” here means to be overtaken and surprised—or to be caught up in a moment and all of a sudden find yourself entangled in and broken by sin. The spiritually mature have a responsibility to restore gently. The word “restore” means to mend or reset—such as setting a bone that has been broken.
If I have a broken arm, I want someone who knows what they are doing when they work on me, and I want them to be gentle in doing so. Trying to restore those broken by sin without the fruit of the Spirit of gentleness results in adding pain and bitterness, instead of restoration and healing. The truth of God’s Word and His available grace cuts the heart of the broken far more effectively than the harsh words of the religious elite.
When broken people appeal to God for forgiveness, He restores not only their heart but their joy. Restoration by God’s mercy displays the embrace of truth and faithfulness, the kiss of peace and righteousness, and God’s desire to save. Take a look again at Psalm 85, but this time at verses 10-13:
Steadfast love and truth and faithfulness meet together;
Righteousness and peace kiss each other.
Truth springs from the earth,
And righteousness looks down from heaven.
Indeed, the LORD will give what is good,
And our land will yield its produce.
Righteousness will go before Him
And will make His footsteps into a way [in which to walk].
May God give us the confidence and humility to trust the truth and restoration of the Good Shepherd. The twenty-third Psalm was not written for funerals—but rather for life. Think about these familiar words from Psalm 23:1-3:
The LORD is my Shepherd [to feed, to guide and to shield me],
I shall not want.
He lets me lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside the still and quiet waters.
He refreshes and restores my soul (life);
He leads me in the paths of righteousness
for His name’s sake.