Trinity Angela Chanel | Living Offensively
Christian Published Author
Christian Devotionals
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״I believe God is offering a different path. A path where He can bring healing to our deep wounds. A path where He can bring freedom from strongholds. A path where He can tell us where the traps are and we can step right over them. He can provide wise strategies before we come face to face with difficult circumstances. He can teach us what spiritual weapons to use and when to use them, to not only fight battles, but win battles! And this is how we can live free to do all that God has created us for."
- Trinity Angela Chanel
Isaiah 61:3-4 “To all who mourn in Israel, he will give a crown of beauty for ashes, a joyous blessing instead of mourning, festive praise instead of despair. In their righteousness, they will be like great oaks that the Lord has planted for his own glory. They will rebuild the ancient ruins, repairing cities destroyed long ago. They will revive them, though they have been deserted for many generations.”
I held the phone in my hand, jaws dropped, feeling my entire body grow hot with anger. The news shook me and as my friend was trying to calm me down, I drowned out every word she was speaking. All I could hear was the whispers of anger. I walked out the front door of my church, moments after service ended, forcefully. Enough force that I later found out I had broke the door. When I think back to that day, it was a life changing moment for me. It was the day God revealed that my emotions were out of alignment and He was ready to restore them.
Human definition of restoration is a lot different than God’s. Cambridge Dictionary’s definition of restoration is “the act or process of returning something to its earlier good condition or position.” A Biblical definition of restoration comes from the Greek word kathistemi, which means "to set in order," When Christ comes back, He will set all things in proper order. He will come to take His rightful place on the throne and place the devil where he belongs. But He doesn’t want to wait until He comes back for us to set things in order in our lives. God promises us that He can restore while we are living on Earth. God wants to restore our relationships, our finances, our hearts back to its rightful place. In other words, He wants to set every area of our lives in proper order. When God’s hand is over our situation, restoration will reflect Isaiah 61:3-4 (NLT) “To all who mourn in Israel, he will give a crown of beauty for ashes, a joyous blessing instead of mourning, festive praise instead of despair. In their righteousness, they will be like great oaks that the Lord has planted for his own glory. They will rebuild the ancient ruins, repairing cities destroyed long ago. They will revive them, though they have been deserted for many generations.”
When God restores, what was once ashes becomes something so beautiful. What we have mourned over, God will bring joy into our hearts. He can rebuild something that we thought was long destroyed. Maybe it is your marriage, a friendship, finances, or physical, mental, or emotional health. If God wills it, then He can certainly restore anything. But what if your marriage wasn’t in the proper setting, therefore it wasn’t functioning properly? What if your friendship was not built on the right foundation, therefore dysfunction tore it apart? When two people have incorporated sin in their relationship, the relationship does not function properly. When you have unhealed wounds that you refuse to address, your soul will not function properly. If we are walking around with unhealed wounds, God doesn’t just allow us to go through life hurting. He doesn’t just tell us that we are beyond repair and toss us out like trash. God wants to come in and restore whatever is broken inside of us. He wants to set things in proper order.
The moment I broke the front door at my church, leaving angry and upset, was the moment I surrendered my emotions to God. I saw The ugliest side of me and I desperately wanted to change. God set me on a journey of restoring and placing my emotions in rightful order. I no longer allowed my emotions to be in the driver's seat, instead God granted me wisdom and strength to not be led by my feelings. Instead of reacting from what I feel, I walk into every day with what I know to be true. God is for me, He will help me, and I certainly do not have to handle any situation on my own. I have the ultimate Helper! But it all started with recognizing my emotions were out of alignment and releasing my emotions to God to bring restoration. Restoration begins with surrender.
My friend, one way we can allow God to restore things in our lives is to release it over to Him. We have to make the choice to let it go, release into His hands, and allow God to provide the wisdom to help us navigate different areas of our lives. We must be open to recognizing where things are not in alignment of God's Word or structure. Obviously, with it in our hands, there is not much we can do. Sometimes the best thing we can offer is surrender. If we truly believe what the Word of God speaks, if we truly believe who God really is, then we know that God is a lot bigger, stronger, sovereign, and smarter than the very thing you are holding. Allow God to set some areas in your life in proper order. Maybe you don't even realize things are out of alignment. Let's be open for the Holy Spirit to speak to us and reveal what areas He wants to restore.