"So, the beginning of all healing is restoration." ~ Dr. Henry W. Wright, A More Excellent Way
Restoration: the action of returning something to a former owner, place, or condition.
The former owner is God, Jesus, Holy Spirit.
The place or condition is His Kingdom of heaven on earth. His authority. His original purpose.
The best way restoration has been described can be found in a book called Rediscovering the KINGDOM by Myles Munroe:
'"With a twinkle in his eyes, he gathered his thoughts and proceeded to take me on a mental journey that held my attention like a child hearing a tale for the first time.
He spoke fondly of the history of this little old house and of his childhood experiences with its life. When I asked him about the restoration process, he told me a story I will never forget. He said that the house was a genuine restoration. "What do you mean by genuine restoration?" I asked. "Well," he replied, "You see, some so-called restorations are not genuine because they substitute materials for the original." Then gesturing toward the city square, he said, "But that project is genuine restoration because the architects went back to the archives and located the original drawings, then used the exact same materials for every part of the restoration reconstruction. In fact, the little house looks just like it did the day it was built."
"So true restoration requires the original plans and materials to be complete and genuine," I asked. "Absolutely! This is why the value of the restored house is worth more than the towering skyscrapers surrounding it," answered the old man. I left that porch that day with a greater appreciation for the complicated process called restoration and also understood more fully the great restoration program the Creator has been executing on this earth.'
Restoration can take place in any area of life that is out of balance from the original design. Be it the health of the body, finances, relationships, or environments in which we live and operate.
Restoration however can be a lot of work and a painful process. Most of us are unwilling to go back to the original Creator and look at His design. We tend to want to do things our way and with cheaper materials or sub-statues than the original design of things. Fix it our way.
As an example of the work needed, Bill Hamon stated it perfectly in his book Prophets and Personal Prophecy about the process involved to restore a car:
"Kind of like the process that goes on when an old automobile is restored. It is taken completely apart piece by piece, scattered over the garage, sandblasted to remove rust spots, given new parts to replace those that are worn out, and then reassembled and repainted. It had to first become a greater mess of confusion and debris before it was restored."
Sadly a lot of people are unwilling to put in the time or effort to reach restoration because of the mess of stirring up old painful memories, (that we would love to avoid), and beliefs that can cause confusion when trying to sort through the pieces of brokenness.
I am by no means perfect. I, however, was a prisoner to perfectionism, unreachable expectations, and believed so many lies for many years. Thank God He has freed me from those shackles. It is my hope, that through the use of this blog by sharing our stories, we can help and encourage each other to find the Way to Restoration. I believe that is only accomplished through the example of Jesus Christ.
"Everything we need or will need is hidden in his Word, and we search it out like buried treasure!" ~ Lisa Bevere, Girls with Swords. "As we read his Word, it renews our minds. As our minds are renewed, our thoughts change. This change in our thought patterns produces a change in what we say about ourselves, our world, and others. This change in our language produces a change in our actions and connects us with heaven's purposes for the earth. Our words begin to echo the will of our Father in heaven, and the vineyard begins to flourish."
I pray to flourish with His truth and to be restored physically, mentally, emotionally, socially, and spiritually. I pray the same for you. Healing can be found in Him. He is the Way.
Psalm 23:3
"For he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake." NIV
"He gives me new strength. He helps me do what honors him the most." LBT
"He restores my soul. He leads me in right paths for his name's sake." NRS
"He gives me new strength. He guides me in the right paths as he has promised." GNT
"He renews my strength. He guides me along right paths, bringing honor to his name." NLT
"He renews my life; He guides me in right paths as befits His name." JPS
Many of the problems we have are spiritually rooted in some way because of our rebellion to how He asks us to live and interact with Him, ourselves, and others.
Dr. Henry W. Wright states in his book A More Excellent Way:
"All healing of spiritually rooted diseases begins with:
Your coming back in alignment with God. His Word, His person, His nature, His precepts, and what He planned on this planet for you from the beginning. The solution is restoration.
Accepting YOURSELF in your relationship with God; getting rid of your self-hatred, getting rid of your self-bitterness, getting rid of your guilt, and coming back in line with who you are in the Father through Jesus Christ.
Making peace with your brother, your sister, and all others, if at all possible.
So, the beginning of all healing is restoration."
Restoration: the action of returning something to a former owner, place, or condition.
He is the Way to Restoration.