October 14, 2004

[Rev. Doc]

Restoration

"Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.
Psalm 51:12

God can take any life, no matter how fractured and restore it again.

A few years ago, an angry man rushed through the Rijks Museum in Amsterdam until he reached Rembrandt's famous painting "Nightwatch." Then he took out a knife and slashed it repeatedly before he could be stopped. A short time later, a distraught, hostile man slipped into St. Peter's Cathedral in Rome with a hammer and began to smash Michelangelo's beautiful sculpture The Pieta. Two cherished works of art were severely damaged. But what did officials do? Throw them out and forget about them? Absolutely not! Using the best experts, who worked with the utmost care and precision, they made every effort to restore the treasures.

By His sovereign grace, God can bring good out of our failures, and even out of our sins. J. Stuart Holden tells of an old Scottish mansion close to where he had his little summer home. The walls of one room were filled with sketches made by distinguished artists. The practice began after a pitcher of soda water was accidentally spilled on a freshly decorated wall and left an unsightly stain. At the time, a noted artist, Lord Landseer, was a guest in the house. One day when the family went out to the moors, he stayed behind. With a few masterful strokes of a piece of charcoal, that ugly spot became the outline of a beautiful waterfall, bordered by trees and wildlife. He turned that disfigured wall into one of his most successful depictions of Highland life.

Prayer: If you have sound yourself wandering from the Lord, turn back, He will store that precious relationship with you.

"Many people use mighty thin thread when mending their ways."
~Daily Walk.

[Gypsy]

Few things can be more healing to your spirit than when God restores, refreshes, and renews you. I never fail to feel the unconditional love of God when I confess to Him that I have sinned. I can't help but praise Him for giving me worth through Christ and making me of value to Him when I think about it. And everytime He restores me, I believe that He is sculpting me into the person He created me to be.