His Heart, My Home

Joel 2:25 – “So I will restore to you the years…”

In our last post, we studied the word translated as “restore” and found out that it means: to repair what has been broken; to replace what has been lost; to make whole; to make complete; to bring to peace.

We can see in this definition what God’s Word clearly teaches: when we break fellowship with the Lord, wandering away, becoming lost in our own selfishness and sin, He must first repair us before he can refill us. A broken vessel can once again become useful if we put all the pieces into the hands of the Potter for repair.

Holy Spirit repairs us, making us whole, so He can fill us again with His love joy, peace and presence.

Let’s go back to Joel 2:25, “So I will restore to you the years…” Understand that God is not offering us a time-machine ride to the past where we can “undo what we done did”.

(See “Back to the Future” movies – my favorites!)

The word translated as “years” in our verse means much more than just a number of twelve-month time units. The Hebrew word, “shanah” means “a cycle” (thus “a year” since the earth “cycles” around the sun). It also means “to do again, but differently”.

So God is saying, “If you will yield to me, and cooperate with my restoration project in your life, I will not only repair you, and make you whole, but I will open up new dimensions within you, taking you further and higher than ever before in the fulfillment of my plan for your life”.

God says this renovation begins the moment we yield to Him and cooperate with Holy Spirit’s work within us. The “on-switch” for restoration is repentance!

Our modern day culture equates the concept of repentance with feelings…feeling sorry, feeling sad, feeling guilty about the wrong things we have done. We torment ourselves with these feelings, and they lead us into a cycle of failure and condemnation. that never seems to end.

The correct meaning of “repent” (Hebrew word is “teshuvah:) is “to completely turn around, and go in a new direction”.

It is more than just being sorry, or asking for forgiveness. It is more than stopping a bad habit, or resolving to “grow closer to God”.

To repent means to turn our hearts back fully toward God, and allow him to radically transform us, correcting and changing the direction of our lives.

Here are some key elements of teshuvah:

1. Come to yourself, confess and forsake your sin, treating it as a deadly enemy.

“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9) This verse is sometimes called the “Christian’s soap” and unfortunately that’s the way we use it… lather, rinse, repeat.

Confession of sin is an important first step. But there is “something else” needed. That extra something is found in Proverbs 28:13. We must confess and forsake sin.

The word forsake means: abandon; withdraw allegiance from; avoid; cast aside; cease; decline; deny; desert; desist; disavow; discard; disown; divorce; escape; evade; forgo; give up; leave behind; neglect; quit; refuse; reject; renounce; repudiate; set aside; shun, turn our back on.

Why does it sometimes seem so hard to forsake sin? To answer that question, we need to have a better understanding of our human nature. God built into us the innate desire for happiness, joy, and pleasure. His intention was that we would fulfill those needs through an intimate, eternal relationship with Him.

He is the source of happiness, joy, and pleasure.
” You will show me the path of life; in your presence is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” (Psalm 16:11)

But our enemy slyly twists and perverts our God-given desires, offering us a poisonous alternative to the tree of life.

Mankind’s first encounter with the tempter shows this truth. The fruit that Adam and Eve ultimately chose was seen as “good… pleasant… and desirable.” (Genesis 3:6)

Adam and Eve’s desires weren’t wrong, but the way they chose to fulfill their desires (without God) was horribly wrong.

Contrast their motivation with Jesus, “who for the joy that was set before Him, endured the cross… and who delighted to do the will of the Father.” (Psalm 40:8 and Hebrews 10:7) His choice of obedience brought greater joy than could ever come from the temporary pleasures of sin.

Sin is pleasurable for a season, but we will only break free from its grip when we see its inevitable outcome and hate it as our enemy.

2. Let the Lord wash you, taking away your guilt. shame, pain, and anguish. Let His blood erase the stain of sin from your conscience continually.

“God, give me mercy from your fountain of forgiveness! I know your abundant love is enough to wash away my guilt. Because your compassion is so great, take away this shame- ful guilt of sin. Forgive the full extent of my rebellious ways, and erase this deep stain on my conscience. For I’m so ashamed. I feel such pain and anguish within me. I can’t get away from the sting of my sin against you, Lord! Everything I did, I did right in front of you, for you saw it all. Against you, and you above all, have I sinned. Everything you say to me is infallibly true and your judgment conquers me.”
(Psalm 51:1-4, Passion Translation)

3. Rely on Holy Spirit to repair you and realign you, bringing you back into fellowship with the Lord and with others you may have hurt or offended.

“The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by Him we cry, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.”
(Romans 8:15,16, Amplified Bible)

“Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed.”
(James5:16a)

4. Move forward in faith, never looking back.

There’s a race to be run, and we can only achieve victory by focusing on the finish line, not reliving what we see in the rear-view mirror.

“I don’t depend on my own strength to accomplish this; however I do have one compelling focus: I forget all of the past as I fasten my heart to the future instead. I run straight for the divine invitation of reaching the heavenly goal and gaining the victory-prize through the anointing of Jesus.”
(Philippians 3:13,14, PassionTranslation)