Loss and Restoration

Read Isaiah 57:15-19

Our Holy God lives forever in the highest heavens, and this is what He says: "I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite...I have seen his ways, and I will heal him; I will also lead him, and restore comfort to him until those who are mourning start singing my praises. No matter where you are, I, the Lord, will heal you and give you peace." Isaiah 57:15, 18-19

Wow! I love this passage. Especially after all I've been through the last 5 years. Loss can come at us from many different angles. The loss of a loved one, loss of a job, loss through divorce or even giving up on our relationship with Jesus? some call that "backsliding." At any rate, it's quite a loss in itself. Mine is a different story. I am still occasionally swept away by an unexpected wave of pain and hurt, the very real awareness that my late husband Trent is not, and never will be with me again, this side of heaven. But I'm learning that the best way to get to the other side is to go through it, to face it and to name it, to accept the pain and deal with it as directly as I can and to realize that I am never alone. There is comfort in knowing Jesus constantly pursues our lives and He promises to restore. I'm also finding, to my surprise, that there are many stretches of days without tears, and my initial feelings of loneliness and despair living without Trent have gotten better with time and through healing. What a picture of the beauty of God Isaiah offers! The One who is high and lifted up in glory is the same God who draws near to the humble and contrite of spirit. Though He is high and holy, Jesus has time for all of us as individuals? no matter what has happened? and He cares so much about the things that concern us. He comes alongside broken people who turn to Him and He heals like only He can.

When life has pulled the rug out from underneath your feet and it feels like you've fallen hard on your face, how do you see God? Is He far away and removed, waiting for you to get up and dust yourself off? Isaiah declares that God comes near in the moments we would least expect and He breaths new life into our broken places. He takes us by the hand and comforts us. The One who inhabits eternity restores our souls. Jesus is most definitely near. You are never left alone. There is healing for you today whether you've lost someone you love or you feel like you've lost your relationship with Jesus.

We're not promised tomorrow but we have today, so make it great! Stand up! Shine! Your new day is dawning. The glory of the Lord shines brightly upon you. The earth and it's people are covered with darkness, but the glory of the Lord is shining upon you. Isaiah 60:1-2