LIGHT IN THE DARKNESS AND RESTORER OF THE BROKEN

The Lord is the Maker of the heavens and the earth (Genesis 1:1). But God is not only a Maker, He is also a Restorer. After God created everything, He assessed them and saw that they were good. However, when sin entered the world through man, the perfect world God created was corrupted. But the good news is that God can restore.

His power to restore extends to our lives. No matter how badly we have ruined our own lives, God can repair that which is broken. While we may not always think that our lives can ever be put back together again, the Lord knows how to perfectly restore it.

In God, we have hope.

Isaiah 49:8-9 is a prophecy speaking of the coming of the Lord Jesus and the purpose that God had sent Him for. He is to be a Savior and Restorer of the earth and of people living in darkness. When He was here on earth, He did not only teach the Word of God but He also transformed the people He encountered along the way.

Jesus Came to Restore Life, Relationships, Future, and Hope

Mark 5:2-5 tells of the story of the demon-possessed man who was being tormented by a horde of demons night and day. He hurt himself, went about naked, and lived in tombs by himself. Here is a picture of a man whom we may think has no more hope in life.

Yet the Scripture tells us that when he encountered Jesus, the demons feared Him and were cast out of the man by the Lord. It only took an encounter with God for this man to be set free and return to normal. Even in this seemingly hopeless situation, we see that God is able to do the impossible.

Jesus is not only a restorer of the body and the mind, but also of relationships. 

John 4:1-26 speaks of a Samaritan woman who met Jesus by a well. This woman was so longing for love that she has already been in several relationships. But her life was changed when God revealed Himself to her as the Messiah. Her search for love was finally fulfilled by the Lord (John 4:25).

In Luke 8:49-56, Jesus was able to bring restoration even from death! People can think that death is the end but Jesus proved to us that even revival from death to life is in His hands. Truly nothing is impossible with Him.

But in all these, there is a part that we need to do to avail of God's restoration. We need to respond to Him by accepting Him and allowing Him to be the Lord over our lives.

Who are Called to Become Restorers with Christ?

The work of restoration is not for Jesus alone but He also called His followers to do the same. Isaiah 58 speaks of the “true fasting” that He desires from His disciples. He called those who would hear the pleas of the poor and needy to be "Repairers of the Breach" and "Restorers of Streets to Dwell In.”

God wants His people to be restorers alongside Him.

For this to happen, the Lord seeks people who would care for others. We are meant to truly be sensitive to the people around us. It can often be very easy to turn a blind eye to the needs of others as we focus on our own needs. But God clearly called us to care for the natural or spiritual needs of the people around us.

Sometimes, we are hindered by our prejudice towards the people we're supposed to help. But in the parable of the good Samaritan, Jesus taught us to meet a need, regardless of the person's background, when we are capable of doing so.

To truly care for a person means taking action on his situation. 

Feeling sympathy and giving token-help is not enough. We must pay the price to help others. Helping others means recognizing the problem and owning the solution to the problem. It takes courage and sacrifice to care enough and bear a burden that is not even yours. But this is how true love is expressed. We are to do something about a need when we can (Proverbs 3:27).

We cannot just be praying for God to give people faith for what they are going through. Rather, we should ask God for faith for ourselves that we may be part of the solution to their problems.

The story of Pastor Lee Jong-rak tells of a man who has a child born with cerebral palsy. Instead of giving him up, Pastor Lee chose to keep the child even when it meant that he'll be caring for him all his life and that the child will be in a nearly vegetative state.

After devoting himself to caring for his son, the Lord then orchestrated events that led him to adopt an unwanted baby. As he grew in compassion for his own son and this new baby, Pastor Lee committed himself to God that he would care for unwanted and disabled babies.

This led to the creation of the baby "drop box.” This “drop box” is meant to be a container within the walls of his residence where unwanted babies can be dropped off anonymously by their parents. Pastor Lee would then take in each baby, “provide initial care for the child, then hand him over to the police, who help place the child in an orphanage” (Peace).

In spite of his own personal concerns such as his own child and his own sickness, having diabetes himself, Pastor Lee did not use these as excuses not to care for the children who are in great need. He is an example of one who paid the price to care for the needy. This is what it means to be called a restorer.

Further, restorers are not only people who care for others but also people who are setting their hearts right before the Lord (Isaiah 58:9-10). God requires that our own lives be right in His eyes before He can make us restorers. Verse 13 speaks of the need for us to desire to please and love God first before we can receive from the Lord of His succeeding blessings and before we can be used for His ministry.

What are the Promises to the Restorers?

When we have done as the Lord said, to love God and love others, the Lord declares several blessings for us (Isaiah 58:8). God promises to fill us with His light that transforms the darkness. He will fill our needs and respond to us readily when we call Him. Then He will call us Restorers and Repairers of the breach.

Those who will answer His call to be restorers are going to be used in the coming revival. 

God did not call us to comfort. Instead, He called us to be His light in the dark places of this world. We cannot ask God for revival unless we ourselves are willing to be the light that shines forth in places of need.

The key to revival is the rising up of the restorers who are spoken of in Isaiah 58. If we seek God to bring revival, let us allow God to make us the restorers that He has called us to be.


Source:
Peace, Madison. “‘The Drop Box,’ Where Disabled Babies Go to Live.” The Federalist. thefederalist.com/2015/03/16/the-drop-box-where-disabled-babies-go-to-live/. Accessed 22 June 2017.