Restoration

Good afternoon, friends in Western Europe, we are so blessed to be with you today. Sharing about this month’s theme of Restoration. Sal and I are celebrating 20 years of marriage today and I can honestly tell you that our lives have been restored and redeemed through our marriage relationship, as well as the love of Jesus.

So many times. So many times.

So we are so excited to be sharing with you just a very short devotional for this month. Just know that we love you. We’re coming to you from Charlotte North Carolina. And we are so excited to be with you.

Psalm 23 says, the Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside quiet waters. He restores my soul. He guides me in the path of righteousness for his namesake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for you are with me, your rod and your staff they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil, my cup overflows. Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life And I will dwell in the House of the Lord forever. Amen.

This passage of Scripture reminds me so many times that even though there’s all kinds of turmoil and all kinds of things that can be happening in our lives. In our daily lives, I mean, you wake up and there’s kids and there’s demands and there’s work and there’s jobs and there’s all kinds of things. All kinds of pressures that are on our plates every single day.

It can be very, very hard to find rest. But in Psalm 23, it talks about how the Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. He leads me. He leads makes me lie down in green pastures. He he leads me beside quiet waters. He restores my soul. There is restoration for the souls of those who put their hope and their faith and their trust in Jesus Christ.

The cool part to me is if you skip down to verse five, it says, you prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies, in the most tumultuous of situations. When everything is going out around us, when your enemies are literally encamped around you. When you feel like there’s nowhere to go, nowhere to run. God prepares a table for you.

A place of sustenance, a place of supply, a place of rest and relaxation in the very presence of your enemies. You don’t have to wait to be removed from the situation that you’re in. You don’t have to wait for vacation. You don’t have to wait to be to be disconnected from life and from the world to find the rest that God has for you.

Because He can provide for you. A place of sustenance and a place of rest in the very presence of your enemies. In the midst of your situation, in the midst of your difficulties, in the midst of your trials. You can find rest. There is rest for those who know the Lord.

I think that that is so, so good to think about. I think that’s where the term, the peace that passes all understanding comes from. Because who could think about being at rest at a table in front of your enemies? I think that would be really difficult to be at rest. But like Sal said, if you know the Lord and you have your faith and your trust and your foundation set firm in him, then we can trust and have rest in the midst of our circumstances.

I know personally that many of you are going through some really tough things, but I also know that God is walking alongside of you. He has never left us. He has never forsaken us. And wherever you are today, he is with you. So we want to encourage you today. Find rest. Take a moment right now and quiet yourself and find the peace that passes all understanding, because surely goodness and mercy are running after you in your life today.

So that’s some practical application for you right now. As soon as you’re done watching this. No matter where you find yourself, what place you find yourself in. Take just 2 minutes and just quiet yourself. Empty your mind. Empty your thoughts. Don’t think about the future. Don’t think about the past. Just be present with the Lord and allow him to prepare that table for you where you can find rest and you can find peace and you can find comfort.

And then surely goodness and mercy will follow you all the days of your life. Let’s pray.

Lord, we just thank you. We thank you for this opportunity. We thank you, God, to be able to come together and just for technology, God, that we can share our hearts with our friends so far away. God, we pray that you would be with every single individual and family and marriage and children that are watching this video that, father, that in the moment that they can speak the name Jesus, you are there with them.

Lord, your word said where one, two or three are gathered together you are in the midst of them. So, Father, we thank you that right now there is no distance in prayer and that you are with us all. So, Father, we pray specifically that there would be restoration to every situation and every circumstance for any individual that is watching right now.

God, I pray for healing and restoration. Lord God, where time has been stolen, where the locusts have eaten the supply. I pray for restoration and for redemption. We thank you, God, and we give you praise in advance because we know Lord that in the presence of our enemies we can call on your name and you are there giving us rest.

In the midst of it. We give you praise today. We love you, Jesus, and we pray a blessing abundantly upon every individual that we know and that are watching this right now. Father, we pray a blessing on Pastor Kathy and Bishop Chris, Lord. And the leadership team of Western Europe that in the midst of all of the things that they are facing that you would give them wisdom and that they would find rest as well. We love you and in your precious name, we pray.

Amen.

Amen. We love you guys. Thank you so much for allowing us to virtually hang out with you. We may be physically in North Carolina, but right now our hearts in Europe.

Our hearts are always with you in Europe. We love you.