From the garden: Restoration pt. 2
Where is God inviting restoration of your heart?
INVITATION.
Begin with silence
Quiet settling in
A deep breath,
slowly let it out
Meditation.
Psalm 23:2-3
In green pastures He makes me lie down;
to still waters He leads me;
He restores my soul.
Monastery Lake, Pecos, NM (photo by m r n)
Daily Life Rhythms
Days later the word “restoration” still remains, a mulling with, and longing to trust there’s work going on in the heart.
A steady prayer has been arising asking God, “How will You continue the restoration of our minds, hearts, bodies–our souls?”
Many people ask and we often share conversations “dialogue” of honest and open questioning about prayer — How we hear God’s voice? Is it His voice or my own I’m hearing? This dialogue melds our time together with exploring the mystery of God’s love and our relationship to Him–I would say His restoration.
Take a moment of prayerful silence with any questions or stirrings about hearing God’s voice before continuing on.
Some thoughts for us may be insightful from the article Our Greatest Need:Restoration:
“It is easy to think of redemption as the ultimate end, but restoration means that there is more to redemption than the promise of eternal life. The lives of the redeemed are restored to good purpose on earth. God’s restored people “bear fruit in every good work and increase in the knowledge of God” — Dan Wells
How about going deeper into this word living and active working of restoration?
noun
—the act of restoring; renewal, revival, or reestablishment.
—the state or fact of being restored.
—a return of something to a former, original, normal, or unimpaired condition.
Let us lean in to a Biblical path of restoration that has already taken place. We are invited to “Listen for God’s Voice” by noticing how God spoke to people like you and I throughout time. And also, discovering or noticing how God speaks to us within our own daily life rhythms.
Our invitation is to sit with one verse and to listen in for God’s voice through reflection and response:
A journal is always welcomed in listening.
Write down what you are hearing within the deep well in you.
State your questions for wondering with God.
Notice the words and phrases that resonate within you.
Where am I being drawn closer to God?
Where is God inviting restoration of my heart fully and completely?
Feel free to read the surrounding verses to find context if you wish and even cross reference where you are led.
Be encouraged!
He is gently listening and waiting for you. He welcomes honest and vulnerable conversation. With Him there are no boundaries but instead a wide open space ready to embrace you.
Trust. He is truth, life, and goodness!
Let’s begin with the path of restoration by noticing God’s relationship to the human heart (not the blood pumping organ though I do believe there is significance intertwined).
Are you ready?
One verse a day. Meditate on God’s truth:
“He (God) knows it”— 1 Samuel 16:7
“He searches it”—Psalm 7:9; Jeremiah 17;10
“He test it”—1 Chronicles 29:17; 1 Th. 2:4
“He influences it”—Ezra 7:27
“He directs it”—Proverbs 21:1
“He opens it”—Acts 16:14
“He touches it”—1 Samuel 10:26
oh there’s more…pt.3 to come
