He restores my soul.  Psalm 23:3

Have you ever had this thought? “I did really well coping with this last week but I don’t know what happened.  I’ve hit a wall with my faith!”  You wish that the state of your faith from last week could be restored.

The basic word for ‘restore’ means to move something back to the place of departure. The tender Shepherd restores our soul if we pay attention to our heart and address our faith before it completely unravels.  We must go to green pastures and still waters to ask Jesus what’s wrong.  Something sure changed and oftentimes we don’t even know what.  He does though. 

Sometimes just being quiet in prayer will allow us to hear the Holy Spirit’s voice for the answer.  “This is the place where you stopped believing me,” He says.  The lie is revealed and we can deal with our unbelief.  But most of the time, we must spend time interacting with scripture until we find the nature of the conflict.  Most likely, we will come across a verse that rubs against the grain of our feelings.  We know the verse is true but we feel like it’s not true.  This is a sure sign of faith’s fracture. 

A more serious condition can also be exposed.  We can read scripture and admit, “I don’t feel this is true and I don’t believe this is true.”  At that point, we don’t need restoration, we need spiritual growth.  Jesus must take us to brand new pastures.  The manna will feel foreign, yet wonderful on our tongues.

Today is a restoration-day for me.  I’ve carved out some time for God to restore my faith about a certain situation in my life.  Confidence in His assurances have begun to deteriorate. I can’t live without joy and confidence in my Shepherd.  As I dive into the deep waters of the Spirit for restoration, I am praying for you too.  Doubt will melt away, for each of us, in the embrace of the Restorer. 

You mend every broken soul who comes to You. Amen