Day 3: God Is Our Restorer

Connect

Parents, look for something in your home that needs to be repaired or revived. It may be your child’s toy, an appliance, a plant that is about to die, a car, anything.

Together with your children, try to recall the state of the object when it was in good condition—what it looked like, what use you had for it, how much you appreciated it. Contrast it now with its present condition—its appearance, its uselessness.

Note that you didn’t throw it away. You kept it because you want to repair it and bring it back to its original condition, where you can fully appreciate it and use it again. This is called restoration. This is a good process because, to a certain degree, it brings things back to their original form.

How about people? People become broken because of sin. What happens then? Can we be restored? Who restores us?

Read the Word

This is what the LORD says: “When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my good promise to bring you back to this place. For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,” declares the LORD, “and will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you,” declares the LORD, “and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile.” JEREMIAH 29:10–14 (NIV)

How reassuring it is to hear these words! They were given at a time when the Jews were forced to live away from home, in exile in Babylon. Even in exile, God did not abandon them. In the midst of their suffering, God revealed a plan to restore them physically back to their land.

Today, most of us have experienced loss of some kind—loss of a job, financial security, health, or even a loved one. As God’s children, we can rest in the assurance that He will not abandon us through our losses. We can trust that He has a plan and that His plans are good. We must let this truth rest in our minds and in our hearts.

Huddle

Parents to Kids

4–6 years old 

• Have you ever lost a toy you loved? Were you able to find it? Tell us what happened.

7–12 years old 

• What do you think has been your biggest loss this pandemic? (Loss does not necessarily mean a physical loss. It may be loss of time with friends, loss of things you used to be able to do, and things like that.) 
• Do you expect things to go back to how they were before the pandemic? How can this happen? What can we depend on for this to take place?

Kids to Parents 

• What was the biggest loss you experienced? How is God restoring this loss?

No matter what we have lost, we can always have hope. This is because our hope is in Christ, not in the things we have lost. God can restore what was lost, but more than these, He wants to restore people back to Himself. Jesus Christ’s work on the cross made this possible. Because of what He did, we can receive salvation. You see, God restored us back to Him even when we were sinful. As His new creation, our physical losses become instruments for us to know Him more and even provide opportunities to tell others about Him.

Pray

Dear God, thank You for Your wonderful plans for us and that you have never abandoned us. But most of all, thank You for restoring our hearts back to You. Please help us to see Your hand in our situation so that we may share Your hope with others. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Discover

Do you ever wonder how art masterpieces, whether a painting, sculpture, building, or other form of art, are preserved over many years?

Most have undergone a process called “art restoration.”

Art restoration is done on a piece of art that has lost its original state through different causes like humidity, molds, exposure to light, vandalism, or human contact. It entails a tedious, sometimes years-long process of analysis, involving much technology and delicate cleaning, all of which will help ensure that the original piece is preserved.

Some famous works that have been undergoing restoration include the following: 

• The Taj Mahal, a building in India 
• The Mona Lisa, a painting in Paris 
• Pieta, a sculpture in Italy

While some restorations are impressive and bring the art piece as close to the original work as possible, none can compete with the restorative work God does in each one of us. From our messy beginnings, He restores us to His original design, which is far better than where we started. Only God can change and restore the human heart!

Source

“The Science Behind the Restoration of a Painting,” Invaluable, accessed May 14, 2021, https://www.invaluable.com/blog/the-science-behind-art-restoration/.