“Lord, you were favorable to your land;
you restored the fortunes of Jacob.
You forgave the iniquity of your people;
you covered all their sin.
You withdrew all your wrath;
you turned from your hot anger.
Restore us again, O God of our salvation…
Will you not revive us again,
that your people may rejoice in you?
Show us your steadfast love, O Lord,
and grant us your salvation.”
“Incline your ear, O Lord, and answer me,
for I am poor and needy…
For you are good and forgiving,
abounding in steadfast love to all who call upon you…
There is none like you among the gods, O Lord,
nor are there any works like yours…
You are great and do wondrous things;
you alone are God.
Teach me your way, O Lord,
that I may walk in your truth;
unite my heart to fear your name.
I give thanks to you, O Lord my God, with my whole heart,
and I will glorify your name forever.
For great is your steadfast love toward me;
you have delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol…
You, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.
Turn and be gracious to me…
You, Lord, have helped and comforted me.” Psalm 85:1-4,6-7; 86:1,5,8,10-13,15-17
The psalmists’ know that God’s anger is righteous, and that by nature He is merciful and forgiving. All restoration flows from His steadfast love. They also know the brokenness that Christ came to restore, and that His wondrous work begins by uniting the human heart. His lavish redemption must meet the willing sinner to effect its gracious revival.
In daily stresses and conundrums, we turn to many a solution. Tackle quick issues, ignore bothersome ones, solve problems, delegate responsibilities. Failures of completion, fortitude, or morality can eat at us, yet we placate unease with distraction or angst over the only true resolution.
Enter the grace-filled God who woos us to submission. He lifts thought and turns affection to desire His wholeness. He plants the plea for a united heart, then masterfully accomplishes the work. We are the settled and grateful beneficiaries, freed to rejoice.
Where are we yearning for restoration- of vitality in prayer, passion for righteousness, strained relationships, clear direction? What hidden places of the soul- stores of stubbornness, disdain, resentment, blame, personal rights- are resisting the Lord’s intervention? What foreign loves or misguided fears, ugly attitudes or extenuating pressures divide our hearts? What pride holds us back from surrendering our wills to God’s gracious healing?
The great Redeemer longs to restore, to make right and whole. He made us for wondrous things and beckons us come. If we truly want His sway over all of us, we will yield our folly and fractured devotion to His loving management, and be restored. (Jeremiah 29:11-13)
“Dear Lord and Father of mankind,
forgive our foolish ways!
Reclothe us in our rightful mind;
in purer lives Thy service find,
in deeper rev’rence, praise.
Drop Thy still dews of quietness,
till all our strivings cease;
take from our souls the strain and stress,
and let our ordered lives confess
the beauty of Thy peace.” ~John Greenleaf Whittier (1872)
Lord, restore my soul and undivided heart so I rightly fear and praise Your name.
