TRUE RESTORATION

Lamentations 5:21  "Restore us to yourself, O Lord, that we may return; renew our days as of old."

Do you ever stop to think of where you might be save the grace of Jesus.  If not for His sacrifice, His life to redeem ours, His death for our birth?  I don't like to think of these things but I feel the Holy Spirit brings these things to mind; not wanting to condemn us, but to draw from our lips, from our hearts, true thanksgiving and worship to our Lord.  To bring to mind where we were, what condition our souls were in and how that one word, "Jesus", that one word said with true repentance changed everything in us. 

I remember not being able to pray, not being able to think past how horrible I was, what a pit I was in, feeling so unloved, and how could the Lord possible forgive the things I had done.  The enemy had done quite a work on me, my mind being so compressed into pity for myself, into shame, into complete wonder of how I could have let myself drift from God Almighty, Whom I had loved as a child, Who I knew as a child loved me, and yet I had gone from Him, left that enclosure of His precious love and grace; and there I was, at the bottom of what was my life.  But with that one word, the only word I could say through my shame, "Jesus, Jesus, Jesus".  That precious Name rose from my heart and made utterance into the open air and He came.  My God swept down and lifted me up, took me from the bottom of a bottomless pit and lifted me high above my situation; high above my problems, and so much higher than my expectations.  In Psalm 81:7  the Word says "In your distress you called and I rescued you".  My Lord God was waiting for my call, for my cry for His help.  He did not make me wait, He did not make me suffer needlessly.  See, my Father knew I had already suffered far more than I should have, suffered far more than He ever wanted me to; but I had a free will and He let me do what I willed.  I know today that my Father suffered with me each step I took that was not in Him; He so wanted me to stay with Him, to be protected, to be honored, but I, in rebellion from circumstances in my life, walked my own path.  How foolish I was, what needless pain I bore, what precious time I wasted.  I will now and always, forever, just to be with You, my Lord.

My Lord, my God, has forgiven me.  If I asked again for His forgiveness for those things, He would not know what I was talking about, as it is far from His memory.  What He sees when He looks at me is my righteousness through my Jesus, His Beloved Son.  Psalm 84, verse 10 has such special meaning to me as I have told my Father that "I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked".  But that is not the plan of my Lord.  No, when He restores, He restores completely to Himself.  There are not steps you have to take; there is no degree of goodness you have to achieve before complete restoration takes place, it is instant.  You ask forgiveness, He gives it and You are restored to Him completely.  Doorkeeper?  "No", my Father said, "You will not be a doorkeeper, you are my child whom I love passionately, and you will sit at My side, in the inner circle of My throne room, you will dine at My table of plenty and be blessed all the days of your life". 

This is my Father's desire for His children.  He does not want us to be on the outside of where He is, He wants us close to Him, to share in His glory, to receive all the blessings of Heaven.  My Lord God wants to have such a personal relationship with His children, up close and personal.  All that my Lord desires is to be loved by His children.  You don't have to do anythng other than love Him and in truly loving Him with all your heart, you will be loving your neighbors as well.  True love for the Father can only lead to love for all those around you.  There will be no malice or hatred in your heart when there is true love for the Lord there.  If you have hate, envy, strife for your neighbor and you say you love the Lord.....well, check your dipstick as it will not show true spiritual oil there, it will be watered down love for the Lord.  It just cannot be true love for the Lord with those other things in your heart.  True restoration, real repentance, fellowship with our Lord gives nothing but love for others in your hearts.  Only the truth here.

My Lord, my God, how I love You.  I love those around me Lord, I love them.  I am totally surprised at the joy that comes from me when I look at Your children.  Even when they mistreat me, I can only just want to pray that they find You, find Your peace and joy.  I know when they are ugly to me that the only difference between them and me is You.  You have made all the difference in my life, in my heart.  You are everything to me, my Father, everything.  This 17th day of September, 2010, I am blessed, I am so blessed as the true restoration my Lord God has been given to me, and I will dwell in the house of my God forever.