Understanding God's Pattern for Restoration

To be fully restored is an essential part of God's plan for each of us. Jesus is the restorer - He not only heals and forgives, but He also restores. According to Acts 3:21, Jesus is in heaven now for the complete restoration of all things. This is His current ministry.

The good shepherd restores our soul (Psalm 23:3), and this restoration occurs before He leads us on the path of righteousness. Many of us have been asking God to put us on the path of destiny before we've been properly restored to walk that path.

What does the altar represent in our spiritual lives?

The Old Testament stone altar represents the raised place of devotion in our lives. It's a structure dedicated to worship, prayer, and devotion, with its ultimate purpose being the interaction between the divine and human.

However, with everything real, we must deal with counterfeits. Too often, our high places of devotion aren't directed toward God but toward things, ideologies, systems, and transactions where we diversify our trust. God wants us to trust Him with all our heart, not just part or most of it.

Why must restoration come before increase?

God wants to authorize His powerful ministry of restoration in our lives. He can bless each of us with more, but first comes the restore. Reversing this order is futile and dangerous.

Consider 3 John 2: "Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health just as your soul prospers." Restoration is just as much a work of prosperity as any other good addition. Many people have lots of material possessions but carry a broken spirit, a sad soul, or a wounded heart. That version of "more" is really just more trouble.

God has the perfect order for your life: Restore, then more.

What can we learn from the Prodigal Son about restoration?

The parable of the Prodigal Son in Luke 15 is the ultimate "Repent and Restore" story. A younger son leaves his father's house with his inheritance and squanders it. He moves to a foreign country where he lives recklessly until all his wealth is gone. When a severe famine hits, his hardships multiply, and he becomes so desperate that he takes a job feeding pigs.

His hopelessness and hunger grow more and more until one day he comes to his senses: "How many of my father's hired men have more than enough food while I'm dying here of hunger? I will get up and go to my Father and say to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Just treat me like one of your hired men.'"

When the son arrives home, his loving father sees him from afar, runs to embrace him, and celebrates his return. The father puts a ring on his finger, the best robe on him, new sandals, and throws a celebration banquet.

What are the key spiritual patterns in the Prodigal Son story?

Edwin Lewis Cole identified the pattern of the prodigal as: rebellion, ruin, repentance, reconciliation, restoration.

Looking through the lens of "restore, then more," we see that restoration must come first. When the young man was completely broke, desperate, and hopeless, our natural sympathy might lead us to want to rescue him immediately with more food, comfort, or opportunity.

But the beauty of the Luke 15 story is that there's a genuine repentance point - the pig pen. It's ugly and stinky, but the pig pen preaches a powerful sermon. The hunger and the snorting of the pigs help our young prodigal "come to himself."

How does God use difficult circumstances to bring about repentance?

Psalm 75:7 says God puts down before He raises up. For those praying and holding out hope for a loved one who is lost in a prodigal lifestyle, take heart. God is actively working and drawing their heart to repent. Just like in Luke 15, God is using the "pig pen" to persuade their heart.

Consequence can be a teacher and persuader. Anne Graham Lotz said about her brother Franklin Graham (who was once a prodigal): "If God can change Franklin from a prodigal into a man of God, He can do it for anybody."

Why is agreement with God's process so important?

We must be "agreement capable" with God's precepts. This means having the intellectual competence to enter into a binding contract with God. Faith in God is an agreement with God that all things are possible.

Biblically, consenting to the terms of God's promises comes down to one simple thing: repentance. The prodigal son demonstrated genuine repentance when he said, "Let me work it off, Father. I take responsibility."

The goodness of God becomes evident when you repent and restore.

What role does discernment play in restoration?

Discernment is critical to the ministry of restoration and reconciliation. There are some things that God wants you to let go of, leave behind, and never look back on - this is the "unbuild" stage.

Sometimes we believe everything broken needs to be restored, but that's not biblical. There are:

• Relationships God never sanctioned
• Ministries God never directed to be organized
• Things born of the flesh that never evolve into spiritual entities condoned by God

Don't work to restore what was never meant to be. Don't reconcile a lamb with a wolf - that's not ministry; it's abuse.

What should we never try to rebuild?

When God helped Joshua destroy Jericho, He gave specific instructions not to rebuild it (Joshua 6:26). There are some places and relationships God wants you to leave in the past.

There are even some memories God wants you to choose to remember no more. God doesn't forget, but He has chosen to remember our sins no more. We need to imitate God in these areas and stop reviving memories of offenses, hurts, and failures.

Forgiveness is part of unbuilding. As Tyler Perry said, "It's not an easy journey to get to a place where you forgive people. But it is such a powerful place because it frees you."

How do we discern what God wants us to restore?

Isaiah 43:18 tells us: "Do not earnestly remember the former things, neither consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing."

When your discernment works properly, you can identify what God is doing. God is always doing a new thing, a better thing. You discover what He's doing when you repent and restore the altar of meeting with Heavenly Father.

Restore the walls of principle and absolute life around the perimeter of your heart. You can't guard your heart without walls of principle defining the boundaries of life.

Why do we need fresh manna daily?

Discernment fails when you idolize the past. A believer who has an enshrined altar to the past, bowing down to traditions, is double-minded.

In Exodus 16, Moses instructed God's people not to keep manna overnight, but some disobeyed, and it bred worms and stank. Old manna has the marks of being approved and authorized as a blessing from God yesterday, but it's not today's answer or supply.

Don't wait for a crisis to tell you you're desperate for God's "more." You always need God's fresh manna, fresh instruction, fresh communication. You need that communion of coming near to God daily, not just once a week.

How does the Good Shepherd restore us?

Life doesn't fix itself - we must go to the Father. Life is an opportunity for each of us to work the ministry of restoration. God anoints and empowers us to work His divine "Repent and Restore" process.

If you're feeling emotionally or mentally broken right now, don't be afraid. The Good Shepherd sees you and wants to save you. Psalm 23:3 says, "He restores my soul." The Lord restores your mind, your will, and your emotions.

Maybe you've been terribly abused in the worst way imaginable. This is why unbuilding is an essential part of repenting and restoration. The Lord is the great restorer, so partner and agree with His ministry.

Sometimes we can be so guarded about our broken places that we lock God's provision out. The world tells you to guard your wounds and make them a monument to your identity because they have zero power to heal them. But God has the power to heal, restore, and then bless you with more.

Life Application

This week, consider where you need restoration in your life. Are there areas where you've been asking God for "more" before allowing Him to restore what's broken?

Ask yourself: 

• What altars in my life need to be rebuilt - places of devotion, prayer, and communion with God?
• Are there things I'm trying to restore that God actually wants me to leave behind?
• Am I holding onto old manna - yesterday's provision - instead of seeking fresh communion with God daily?
• Where do I need to practice genuine repentance in my life?

Take time this week to identify one area where you need restoration, and surrender it completely to God. Remember His pattern: repent, restore, then more. Trust that as you allow Him to restore your soul, He will lead you on paths of righteousness and bless you with more than you could ask or imagine.

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