365 Days with God - Day 80: Full Restoration

I'm giving myself a challenge. Read the Bible each day for a whole year, following the ESV Study Guide 1-year plan. Each day, I will post whatever God has revealed to me in His Word, and how it is changing me. A friend of mine once said that nothing has changed her life as much as reading the bible each day - and I'm excited for how this will change me. Join me on an adventure into the heart of God - and day by day, we can learn more about who He is and what that means to us!

- Andy Catts

Day 80, March 10, 2014

Readings: Psalm 80, Exodus 25, Nehemiah 6, Romans 15:14-33

Restore us, O LORD God of hosts!
Let your face shine, that we may be saved! (Psalm 80:19)

How often have you cried out to God, asking Him to restore you?

How often has that really been a cry that sounds more like: "God, please fix this situation so I can go back to what I wanted to do!"

Because that's usually what I do. I don't want God to fix all of me, just whatever is preventing me from getting what I want. I want God to fix the attitude problem, or the money problem, or the forgiveness problem that I have.

But when I look at the bigger picture, I need so much more. I need a full restoration.  When car buffs talk about fixing up a classic car, there's varying degrees of, you guessed it, restoration. Everything from nothing to everything. Some just want a car that's drivable. Some just want something that looks good, that could make it to a few car shows.

Some want it all. The car is torn to pieces, every part examined, every rusty spot fixed, each chrome piece re-chromed, every square inch painted and buffed to perfection. Often an entirely new engine is put in place.

This is not a short process. It can take years. It costs a lot. But the end result is stunning. And this is what God wants to do in our lives - a full restoration. Not just a new set of rims, or a decent looking paint job, no, God wants it all. He wants to change every piece about us - how we think, act and believe.

And it's not a short process either. It's not easy. It takes years, as every wrinkle is ironed out, every rusty part of us that's stuck is cleaned and replaced, until we shine. Until we are completely changed.

Are you up for it? Do you want to see the truth of who God made you to be? Or are you content to be a daily driver - something that merely makes it from A to B? God desires to make you whole, new and completely restored.