When we keep God in the proper role in our lives, He will restore what is lost. No matter what occurs, no matter what we face, if we press on and live for Him, we can be sure something far better than what we left behind is coming.
In Joel, we read how what was lost through famine was restored in full when the people turned their hearts back to God. God wants our full attention, our heart, no reservations. He wants to be our A #1.
Again and again in Scripture, God allows His people to walk through trials and hardships and then brings them to the other side with abundant blessings! Think of Job and Jacob, Ruth and Naomi, David and Moses. No setback they faced withheld the incredible future that God had ahead of them!
Beauty in Setbacks
Did you know there is beauty to be found in what we perceive as setbacks? God uses them as divine appointments and opportunities for us to grow closer to Him and to better serve those He has placed in our lives.
I can’t help but think setbacks help us to pause and seek God even more than when things are just humming along. When things are going smoothly, we keep pressing on, moving forward. But when there are bumps in the road, it causes us to pause and ponder. Are these setbacks a result of choices made? What changes do we need to make in our lives? Or are they simply a reminder to shift our focus and resubmit our lives, our goals, our all to the One we serve?
On the surface level setbacks can be hard. But when we later better understand the purpose they have in our lives, it is incredibly humbling to know we mean so much to God! Be certain, when we live for God, He uses every setback for our good. He will restore what is lost – be it a dream, a hope, an opportunity, or a reality. Not with the carbon copy of what was lost, but with something even better.
Scripture talks about how we receive in the manner we give. So if we go about giving our best we can be certain that even through setbacks, He will restore what is lost. He will bring beauty from ashes and He will help us find beauty in our setbacks.
Praise Him in the Trial
God will restore what is lost. That is a simple, irrefutable fact. There is no question as to whether or not He will show up this time like He has in the past. He has a perfect track record and never fails. You can never have too much confidence in Him – incredibly enough it is quite simply impossible!
The most God-honoring, favor-expecting, faith-building thing you can do is praise Him now. Through the setback, in the valley, as you press on despite disappointment and human uncertainty. This is where faith is built. This is where you develop strength of character. The harder the trial and setback, the more confident and convinced you can be of His restoration and provision!
Let me challenge you to pray bold prayers! Ask God to help you learn to praise Him for the current disappointment. Ask Him to help you trust Him without reservation, confident that He has a perfect plan. And then praise Him for what He is doing in your life! Let go and surrender any areas or things or people that you may be clinging to. Release it all to Him, knowing He is a perfect Father.
This simple act of praising Him in the trial adjusts your attitude and expectations to begin to shift to see things from His perspective. God is a God of perfection and excellence and He doesn’t want you to settle for a life of mediocrity!
God is Always on Time
Sometimes it can feel like life is passing us by. We aren’t where we thought we would be or others are living our dreams. Try as we might sometimes life is more complicated than we anticipated. But it is here in the uncertainty that we need to praise God and recommit to living for Him. Tell Him your hearts’ desire and then release those dreams to Him, His ways are higher, after all!
And just like in the book of Joel, as we release everything to Him, focus on Him, recommit our everything to Him, He will restore what is lost in better ways than we can even imagine! Blessings pressed down, shaken together and overflowing our expectations and dreams!
He is never one moment late and He doesn’t miss a single detail. In fact, don’t be surprised if He delivers on promises and secret hopes that you have forgotten you even had once upon a time! That is the kind of God we serve!
How precious and incredible is it to realize we mean so much to the Creator of the universe? As Psalms says, He restores my soul – and that’s just what meditating on Him and His promises does for me.
Life can get noisy and distracting. But when we seek the Author of our story we can find perfect peace in the story He is writing in our lives! Rest in the knowledge of His peace, His blessings and His constant care.
He will restore what is lost – believe it and expect it! And remember, there is beauty to be found through perceived setbacks, to praise Him through trials, and know that He is always perfectly on time!
Until Next Time!
Hope.
PS. Keep reading: https://www.theamericanlady.com/2021/03/24/the-best-is-yet-to-come/