Our God Restores was a
sermon given and later
written by Tim Byerly, a
former leader for
F.O.C.U.S., the young
adults group at Word of
Life Church. Tim now
assists with the youth
group at WOL. Congrats
and Thanks, Tim! This
sermon helped me so
much, and I know it will
help others! I am so
blessed by your
thoughtfulness and
insight. — Rebecca
Are painful emotions towards a love one keeping you depressed and in despair today? Is unforgiveness keeping you from enjoying the
abundant life God has for you? If you answered these questions yes, then trust me, you are in the majority. Our emotions are one of the
main tools that Satan uses to keep us in bondage. But be encouraged because our God restores!
“But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” Matt. 6:33 KJV
What are you seeking today? What needs are present in your life? Regardless of what those needs may be, we serve a God that wants to
meet every last one of them. The key to success in all areas of life, according to Matthew 6:33, is to seek first the kingdom of God and to
keep Him first in all you do.
Growing up in the church, I kept God first in my life and had beautiful relationships with my parents and friends. However, as I distanced
myself from God and fell into a sinful lifestyle, those relationships slowly deteriorated. My mother and I were always very close to each
other because of our similar personalities. We are both very emotional and sensitive people and Satan new this. When the hedge of
protection was broken in my life, the devil used our emotions against us and we began to fight often. It got to the point that we did not even
speak to one another unless we were yelling and arguing.
As you can imagine, being a sensitive person, this tore out my heart. I tried to fix our wounded relationship, but nothing seemed to work.
When I recommitted my life to Christ, restoring the broken relationship between my mother and I was one of the first things I went to God
about in prayer. He told me to keep Him first and He would restore. Praise God that He is faithful!! Over time, God has mended our
relationship to the point that I have a brand new mom and she has a brand new son. Our God is not a respecter of persons and will do the
exact same thing in your life as you keep Him first. Amen!!
Therefore, if you want God to restore your relationships, you must first work on your relationship with Him. “Delight yourself in the Lord
and He will give you the desires of your heart” Psalm 37:4. As we put God first, His desires for our lives far surpass the ones we have for
ourselves. What we want begins to come into alignment with His will and He is able to do exceedingly and abundantly more than we could
hope, ask, or imagine. Ephesians 3:20
To me, delight yourself in the Lord means to spend time with Him. Jesus wants you to know Him more intimately than anyone else in your
life; He wants to be your very best friend. To do this, we need to read the Word, which is the will of God. Also, we need to spend serious
time in prayer and talk to Jesus just as we talk to our friends and family.
I am reminded of a song by Hillsong that says “with everything I am I reach up for your hand.” Jesus has everything you need to restore
your relationships and He is holding out His hand just waiting for you to take it. I encourage you today to reach up with all you are, take the
Lord’s hand, and allow Him to go to work in your life. Whether you need healing in your marriage, friendship, or in a relationship with a
parent who has hurt you, if you will seek first the kingdom of God, He will give you all you need.
In the book of Revelation (21:4-5)it says:
“He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying,
or pain; the first things have passed away.” “And He who sits on the throne said, ‘Behold, I am making all things new,’ And He said,
‘Write, for these words are faithful and true.'”
God is making all things new again. Praise the Lord that this includes the relationships in our lives that we long to have repaired and restored.
This passage is speaking particularly about the end times, but, just like all scripture, it applies to today because God’s Word is the same
yesterday, today, and forever. Amen!! He is on our side and is making the destroyed and damaged relationships of our lives as though they
are brand new. When we are seeking God first, keeping Him above all in our lives, and delighting in the Lord, He will meet all of our needs.
He will fulfill all of our desires according to His will.
In closing, Romans 8:28 (NAS) “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who
are called according to His purpose.” So be encouraged that God’s timing is perfect and He is on your side. He is working on you behalf in
ways that you are unaware of, even as we speak, that will restore the relationships which are causing you pain. Continue to seek first the
kingdom of God and He will continue to pour blessing and favor into your life.
The Ring
By: Rebecca Hamilton
beautiful Topaz ring laid in 14 karat gold. It was the first “real” piece of jewelry I had ever gotten. Most of my other stuff came from the sale shelf at Claire’s Boutique. But on this very special birthday, my sweet sixteen, I was blessed with the real thing. I enjoyed wearing my ring throughout the years, but didn’t give it much special thought since shortly after my birthday. I had forgotten just how special my ring was to me, until I lost it.When I was about 22 years old, and had children of my own, and a dog, too, is when it happened. We were going to visit my aunt, who lived about an hour from us. I put my ring on that morning, probably because it matched whatever it was that I was wearing. I fed the dog before we left, and arrived on schedule at my aunt’s. It wasn’t until we were ready to leave for home that I realized my ring was not on my finger. I felt sick to my stomach. We had done some yard work with my aunt and I knew it could be anywhere in a two or three acre radius. Needless to say, our search party of about ten, six of which were my aunt’s daughters, finally called it quits a couple of hours later. I was heartbroken. More than that, I didn’t want to tell my mother. I delayed that, hoping it would turn up. That hope was gone when my aunt moved a couple of months later. My access to the place where I had lost it was taken away. So, I gave up on the possibility of never having my ring back, finally told my mother, and tucked away the regret of that loss.I eventually forgot about my beautiful ring until one day, seven years later, my son came in the house. “Mom, I found a ring. Jacob took it off me and wants to sell it.” My usual response, “that’s nice, now go play.” About ten minutes later he proudly busted in the door. “I got it back off him,” he said in a taunting way. “Let’s see your prize,” is about what I said. To my amazement, it was my ring. I grabbed it, not believing my eyes. It was my long lost ring!! Seven years! Seven years since I had lost it. I must’ve repeated twenty times, “I can’t believe you found my ring! I thought I’d never see it again.” The first thing I had to do was call my mother. She, too, was amazed at the news of my prodigal ring’s return. “Where was it?” she asked. “Brendan found it out by the dog. It’s caked in dirt, but I’m sure it will clean up just fine.” God is so wonderful. You see, I hadn’t lost it at my aunt’s house after all. I lost it while feeding the dog! I really hadn’t even lost it at all. It was right under my nose all this time.So, after the excitement calmed down, I took my ring and cleaned it off. I looked closer and saw that it was damaged. A prong was broken off. “That’s O.K.” I thought. I’ll take my damaged ring back any day, rather than not have it at all. So what, I have to get it fixed. I had lost all hope of ever getting back that very special gift that had been given to me, but suddenly, out of no where, I got it back, broken, but found.A restored marriage or relationship is similar to my broken, but found ring. They are both precious to the one who thought all was lost and happily accepted back,even if it has been damaged. Just like my ring, a broken marriage or relationship is worth fixing. And for those of you who have a prodigal out there in the "dirt" of sin, keep your chin up and have faith the size of a mustard seed that they will someday return. Remember, we serve a God who restores