Years ago, a friend shared something heartbreaking with me. He was swindled out of much of his savings. As I listened to him, my heart hurt for him. Having something you’ve worked for and faithfully saved, stolen through someone else’s deception, is devastating.
As he spoke, I found myself thinking about something Jesus said: “The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.” John 10:10 (NLT). Those words reminded me of some precious wisdom a mentor gave me many years ago. He told me, “You gave your life to the Lord, and from that moment God began restoring your life. He forgave your sins, pulled you out of the world’s way of doing things, and began rebuilding your life through His love, His Word, and His promises. Never stop believing for God’s best for your life. It is His will to bless you and restore what the devil has tried to steal from you.”
Then he said something I’ve never forgotten: “Don’t ever let the enemy steal something from you without believing God for restoration.” He wasn’t teaching me that Christians never experience loss. And he certainly wasn’t teaching me that God is some kind of genie who automatically replaces everything we lose. He was teaching me how to respond in faith when loss comes.
The enemy may attack. People may deceive us. Circumstances may bring unexpected losses. We live in a fallen world where terrible things sometimes happen to good people. But my mentor taught me never to allow loss to become the final word over my life. Why? Because restoration is woven throughout God’s Word.
Think about Job. Satan attacked virtually everything precious in his life. Job experienced losses most of us can hardly imagine. Yet his story didn’t end in devastation. “The LORD restored his fortunes. In fact, the LORD gave him twice as much as before!” Job 42:10 (NLT) And then we’re told, “So the LORD blessed Job in the second half of his life even more than in the beginning.” Job 42:12 (NLT)
I have stood on promises like these many times over the years. Renee and I have experienced situations where it looked like the enemy had stolen something from us. Rather than surrendering to discouragement, we prayed, stood on God’s promises, did whatever God showed us to do, and continued believing Him for restoration. And we’ve watched God miraculously bring restoration into our lives time and time again.
Sometimes His restoration came differently than we expected. Sometimes it took longer than we wanted. But we refused to define God’s future for us by what had happened in our past. That’s important. After experiencing a significant loss, it’s easy to continually replay it: If only that hadn’t happened. If only I hadn’t trusted that person. If only I had made a different decision. The desire to hate the person or entity that stole from you. But living continually in regret and unforgiveness won’t restore anything. Faith turns our eyes from what happened yesterday toward the God who holds tomorrow.
God gave Israel an extraordinary promise after years of devastation: “I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten.” Joel 2:25 (NIV) Think about that. God wasn’t merely talking about restoring a crop. He talked about restoring years. We can’t relive yesterday. We can’t go backward and rewrite history. But God can bring such fruitfulness, provision, opportunity, peace, and blessing into the years ahead that yesterday’s loss doesn’t determine tomorrow’s outcome.
If you’ve experienced loss, don’t let it define the rest of your life. Don’t continually rehearse what the enemy stole. Pray, asking God for restoration. Strengthen yourself in the Lord. Ask God for wisdom. Follow His leading. Stand upon His promises and keep expecting His goodness. Your story isn’t over simply because you’ve experienced loss. God is still God. His promises are still true. His goodness is still pursuing you. And He is still the God of restoration. More on this subject next time...
Psalm 23:6 (NLT) “Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life.”
Prayer: Dear Lord, thank You that my losses do not determine my future. You are my Redeemer and Restorer. Where the enemy has stolen, where circumstances have brought loss, or where I have suffered because of the wrong actions of others, help me refuse discouragement and regret. Give me wisdom for every step I should take, and help me stand in faith upon Your promises. I believe that Your goodness and unfailing love are pursuing me, and I trust You to bring restoration in the way You know is best. I will keep looking forward, believing that You still have good things ahead for my life. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
