Each Friday my writing stems from a word prompt. Five minutes, one word prompt. The prompt this week is … Restore.

Upon reading the word prompt, one verse comes to mind:

“In his kindness God called you to share in his eternal glory by means of Christ Jesus. So after you have suffered a little while, he will restore, support, and strengthen you, and he will place you on a firm foundation. All power to him forever! Amen.”
(1 Peter 5:10-11, NLT)

While not suffering at this time, I have experienced the restoration which God brings to our lives. While this verse is making reference of a future time of restoration, the Lord so graciously provides restoration throughout times in our lives …

• Confession is good for us, not only restoring fellowship with God but bringing the assurance and the confidence God is for us.
• God is the glory and the lifter of our head, and restores honor to our lives. He holds our head up high, and restores purpose to our crumbling lives.
  
• He restores the joy of salvation to us.
• He restores wholeness as He tends to the time-consuming task of binding our wounds.

Summer – a time of slowing down from the hurried pace we keep. The longer days invite us to rest and let our bodies and minds bask in His Presence.

As we take time to slow down, we will emerge from this season, restored and able to do what He has called us to do, more committed to those purposes, and more in love with our God who deeply loves us, created us, and restored us.

“… He leads me beside still water, he restores my soul.
He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.”
(Psalm 23: 2b-3, NIV)