December 4, Hope of Restoration

When Adam and Eve fell, and the affects of sin entered the world, they were in desperate need of some hope. Their once beautiful world now bore the marks of death and decay, grief, shame, pain, and loss. Things didn’t get any better as they began to have children. When their oldest son, Cain, murdered his younger brother, Abel, their sorrow must have known no bounds. Yet they held onto the Creator’s promise that one day a deliverer would come from Eve’s offspring who would conquer death and evil. Her words at the birth of her next son reflect this.

“…and she bare a son, and called his name Seth: For God, said she, hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel, whom Cain slew.”  -Genesis 4:25b (KJV)

The next verse tells us that those in Seth’s family line continued to call on the name of the Lord. They do not forget the promise made by their Creator.

As the centuries pass, followers of the Creator God began to prophecy about the coming Deliverer, holding steadfastly to their hope. None wrote more prolifically or beautifully than the prophet Isaiah. Isaiah’s hope shines clearly as he describes the hardships that the Deliverer will vanquish.

The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me,
 because the Lord has anointed me
 to proclaim good news to the poor.
 He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
 to proclaim freedom for the captives
 and release from darkness for the prisoners,
 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor
 and the day of vengeance of our God,
 to comfort all who mourn,
 and provide for those who grieve in Zion—
 to bestow on them a crown of beauty
 instead of ashes,
 the oil of joy
 instead of mourning,
 and a garment of praise
 instead of a spirit of despair.
  -Isaiah 61:1-3 (NIV)

Isaiah’s words are full of hope for a world heavy with the fall-out from sin. The rest of the chapter is full of words such as restore, rebuild, and renew. He concludes the chapter by saying it is the salvation of the Lord that has brought about this restoration and a great rejoicing in his soul.

I delight greatly in the Lord;     
my soul rejoices in my God. 
For he has clothed me with garments of salvation     
and arrayed me in a robe of his righteousness...
-Isaiah 61:10a (NIV)

Many years later, Jesus reads from this very chapter of Isaiah while teaching in a synagogue in Nazareth. (Luke 4:14-21). He reads from verse 1 to the beginning of verse 2, proclaiming the year of the Lord’s favor. Then he tells them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” And through the following chapters of Luke’s gospel we read one account after another of Jesus healing the sick, delivering the oppressed, and restoring the outcasts.

The crowds flocked to Him, sometimes crowding him so much that he needed to climb into a boat and teach from the shoreline. And still, they kept coming to Him. For with Jesus was hope and restoration and healing.

Our world is still a place of hurting hearts and broken spirits. But unlike the people of long ago, we are no longer waiting for the Savior to come. He has already come. He has died for our sins and risen from the grave. He has conquered sin and death.

And what’s more, this is still the year of the Lord’s favor! It is still the day of salvation! We can still come to Him for forgiveness. We can still come to Him with our struggles and our pain and our broken places. All that is required is that we come.

If you could talk to Jesus about anything at all, what would it be? What would you say? Does your problem seem too big for there to be any hope of change? This is what Jesus says to you:

“Come to me, all you who labor and are heavily burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart; and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” -Matthew 11:28-20 (NIV)

Every week God gives us opportunities to RECEIVE His restoration into our lives. Sometimes we may need to repent. Sometimes we may need another person to help us. But it all starts with coming to Him. He is inviting you to come. Take the first step.