RESTORATION: A NEW SEASON

January 12, 2024

“Then I will make up to you for the years That the swarming locust has eaten, The creeping locust, the stripping locust and the gnawing locust, My great army which I sent among you.
Joel 2:25 NKJV

1. THE PATH TO THRIVING BREAKTHROUGH. Restoration is the bringing back of the missing or lost ingredients so that a person can complete and finalize the very things he or she started out to do in life. When the prophet Joel wrote about restoration, it was not only for ancient Israel thousands of years ago, but this truth keeps repeating again and again and is available to you and me. We are moving into a new season, and because of Jesus, we can be hopeful. He is both the author and the finisher of our faith; He makes all things new and raises us up to walk in newness of life (Hebrews 12:2; Isaiah 43:19; Romans 6:4). If there is an area in your life where you got sucker punched, or you failed or got ripped off, or apathy and confusion came in, that is why we have Jesus. He saves us, heals us, and brings renewal to our minds, confidence to our spirits, and correction and conviction when we are off so we can have thriving breakthrough. 
 
2. CLARITY INSTEAD OF CONFUSION. The devil doesn’t want you to make plans for a new day. He works to sow discord, bring discouragement, and get you depressed because if he can keep you in survival mode, then you won’t even want to set a goal or look toward the future. But God is the author of peace and not confusion (1 Corinthians 14:33). You are called to be a minister of reconciliation – Jesus said you are the light of the world and the salt of the earth (2 Corinthians 5:18-19; Matthew 5:13-14). Take time to study and speak out what God says about your days and future, and watch your mindset shift. God is fighting for your breakthrough, and you can trust Him.
 
I will stand on my guard post And station myself on the rampart; And I will keep watch to see what He will speak to me, And how I may reply when I am reproved. Then the Lord answered me and said, “Record the vision And inscribe it on tablets, That the one who reads it may run.” Habakkuk 2:1-2
 
3. RECORDING THE VISION. If you don’t set a goal, how will you hit your goal? Every year, I spend some extra time in prayer and planning. Take time to seek God about your year. Then, get out a pen and record the vision. Write down some spiritual goals, family goals, and work goals. As you take these faith steps and believe God for His plan for your year, you will see God restore hope to you, restore clarity to you, and provide for you. 

Press on! 
Pastor Jeff Perry

DAILY CONFESSION:
Today is the day that the Lord has made. I’m going to rejoice and be glad in it. A merry heart does good like a medicine and the joy of the Lord is my strength. I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. One thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus (Psalm 118:24; Proverbs 17:22; Nehemiah 8:10; Psalm 27:13-14; Philippians 3:13-14). 
 

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res·to·ra·tion, noun 
A bringing back to or putting back into a former position or condition: reinstatement, renewal, reestablishment.
Recovery of health or strength.
The ultimate bringing of the whole universe including all men into harmony with the will of God.
A putting back into an unimpaired or much improved condition.

^{Copyright © 2024 St. Louis Family Church, All rights reserved. No part of this article may be reprinted or distributed in any form without prior written permission of St. Louis Family Church. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are from the New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked NKJV are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved. “Restoration, N. (1).” Webster’s Third New International Dictionary, C. & G. Merriam CO., 1971, p. 193}