Trusting God in the Unknown: Stories of Faith & TriumphShembull

God Restores Completely
By Andrena Sawyer

In 2014 God gave me a life mantra. I was three years into my first business and found myself in the trenches. There I was, mourning a devastating break-up, facing eviction from my apartment, and watching my car get repossessed—all at the same time. Needless to say, I cried a lot during that season.  

I could not figure out why my decision to walk in obedience and purpose had unleashed a figurative hell in my life. To make matters worse, I struggled through a lot of things in silence—embarrassed that much of what was happening was my own doing. After all, no one told me to quit my secure well-paying job with benefits to become an entrepreneur. I did it with a sound mind, having considered the cost, but firmly believing that God was calling me to make a greater impact in the marketplace than my employer would allow. 

I spent a few years in those trenches, oscillating between believing I was cursed and catching glimpses of God’s hand through what I could only hope was a refining season. Things got worse before they got better, but they did get much better. Over the next few years I saw God restore my relationships, my businesses, and replenish what was lost in ways I could have never done by myself. 

I remember the change like it was yesterday. I’d grabbed my keys off the wall hook, prepared to head to the part-time job I felt forced to get. As I opened the door I heard a voice whisper, “God restores. Completely. That’s our blessed assurance.” There was no one else in the apartment, so I knew that either the stress of my circumstances had finally taken me over the edge, or the Holy Spirit was trying to tell me something. Thankfully, it was the latter. Shortly after I heard those words, the Lord led me to read Isaiah 54.  

I needed that reminder again when 2020 rolled around with all its twists and turns and announcements of doom and gloom. Just as in previous seasons, I saw Isaiah 54 come alive personally and through women who, during a pandemic, started businesses for the first time, others who testified of the Holy Spirit giving them divine strategies in famine, and some who saw their marriage and other relationships restored as a result of being quarantined together. 

God is not restricted by time, seasons, or calendar years. Through life's ups and downs, He continues to remind me that He does restore completely, and that is our blessed assurance.

Reflection Questions: 

1. How can reflecting on past victories help you navigate current or future challenges?

2. In what ways did you experience God's grace in 2020?