My Anthem Is Restoration

There’s a centuries-old Japanese art called Kintsugi, which literally means “golden repair”. It’s the art of fixing broken pottery with a lacquer of powdered gold, which turns the cracks of the broken ceramic ware into a unique piece of with seams of gold.

This is a beautiful image of restorative power of God in your life. God always restores things to a better state than it was before. He is not just giving back what was lost, stolen or broken; He gives life and life abundantly. (John 10:10). He doesn’t only give just enough to fill the holes, He pours out until our cup is overflowing.

Double Portion

God gives above and beyond. He restores by giving you a double portion. We see this in Job’s life, where the Lord didn’t just restore his fortunes, but also gave him twice as much as he had before (Job 42). Another verse that reminds you of this extravagance is Isaiah 61:7, that says: “Instead of your shame there shall be a double portion; instead of dishonor you shall rejoice in your lot; therefore in your land you shall possess a double portion; you shall have everlasting joy.”

When an area in your life desperately needs to be restored, it can already feel impossible for God to repair what’s been broken or return what’s been lost. But what if you got such a faith-increase that you didn’t just believe for that, but for a double portion?

Reverse Worrying

Do you feel like you don’t know how to change your beliefs? You don’t think you have the necessary tools to increase your faith? Good news! You have been practicing your whole life, you simply don’t know it.

Every time you worry or play out a worst-case scenario in your head, you’re using your thoughts and imagination to build your expectations. This is the same muscle you use to grow your faith and hope, it simply needs the opposite focus.

Let’s call this reverse worrying. Your “what if”-questions can be turned into powerful statements of belief. The same imagination used when you see doom scenarios flash before your eyes during a sleepless night, is the imagination you can use to dream together with God about the best possible outcome. Your “what if my son never stops doing drugs?”, can be turned into “what if he gets such a radical encounter with God that all of his friends turn to Jesus as well?”.

This faith exercise helps you believe for not just the repair of the current situation, but for God’s ful and extravagant restoration. He loves to show you what kind of “golden repair” He wants to do to the broken ceramics of your life.

Take a moment to close your eyes and envision the area in your life you want God’s restoration to be released in.

Relational Restoration

If you’ve been praying for a broken relationship, imagine what your interactions with this person would be when God has brought about restoration. What does it feel like when your prodigal comes home? What will you say, what will you do?

Now keep dreaming with God about this relationship. What if this relationship becomes better than it has ever been? How could your marriage become an inspiration for newlyweds? How could your connection with your son, daughter, sibling or parent become so close that you recognize God’s character in them every single day?

Financial abundance

If it’s your financial situation, envision what it would look like to get back what has been taken from you. Now take a step further and envision what would happen if you’d receive abundant blessings - more than you need. Who would you give to? What dreams could you invest in? Who would be impacted by this abundance? What do you need to do to prepare for this? Are there any practical steps to get yourself ready for this restoration?

Perfect Health

If you’ve been contending for a restoration of your health, picture a life without pain, disabilities or sickness. What would you be able to do that you can’t do right now? Or if you’ve been praying for the health of someone close to you - what type of activities and adventures would you take them on once they’re healthy?

Now dare to take it a step further. What if you become the healthiest, strongest, fittest version of yourself you’ve ever been? What if your body has so much energy and life every day that you’re constantly looking for new dreams to fulfill, more people to help out, new things to learn? What does life look like with a body that doesn’t limit you?

He Restores Your Soul

If you’re crying out for emotional restoration, invite God to show you what He can do to heal your heart. What would it feel like for you to no longer get triggered by past trauma, or no longer be crushed underneath the weight of grief?

Now let Him grow your faith beyond this initial restoration of your soul. What would it look like for your heart to be so wildly alive that it can’t stop creating, exploring and expressing affection to God and everyone around you? What’s the testimony of your restored soul that could release hope to the brokenhearted? How would a daily experience of His unending love affect every decision you’ll make, the way you see yourself, the way you interact with others?

What if you get disappointed?

It’s very scary to dream in this way. It’s a normal human tendency to want to protect yourself from disappointment. There’s a lie that tries to convince you that you can prepare your heart for a painful outcome by expecting the worst. This lie provides a perceived security and sense of control, but all it truly does is undermine your faith before your breakthrough, and temper your joy when the breakthrough happens.

Self-Protection

It is impossible to live a life of faith while trying to protect yourself from disappointment. We don’t deny the risk of believing for such extravagant expressions of God’s restoration in your life. Grief over a situation that didn’t turn out as desired is a real emotion that needs to be processed with God and healthy community. There are many questions left unanswered and situations we won’t understand on this side of heaven.

But the risk of being disappointed shouldn’t be taken care of by the lying guardians of Worry and Self-Protection. This risk belongs in the safe hands of a Father who deeply cares about your heart. He gives you the capacity and courage to believe in full restoration, so you can take the risk and boldly dream with Him.

Golden Seams

God restores things to a better state than what they were before. He doesn’t have to go back in time to undo what’s been done, He molds the tragedy or mistake into a masterpiece of redemption. He’s so good in making things work together for good, that some people have mistaken this ability for His intention. Even though God never intended for the sickness, tragedy, loss or pain to happen, He is capable of making something beautiful out of it.

He’s more than just a God of silver linings, He’s the One of golden seams.