"Is
any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let
them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord:
And
the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him
up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him."
James 5:14-15
So this evening (3/19/2015) I was studying up on health and healing in the Bible in hopes of writing a blog post. I am just starting out with my research so I am writing down all of the verses out of my first resource. When I got to James 5:14-15 I saw the word restore. Now I have read this verse several times and this word never stuck out to me until tonight. I looked up the word restore and was blown away by the meanings. The revelation of How God restores us is so evident in the meaning of this word. I am going to share the many different meanings of the word restore in this post! (These meanings come from Dictionary.com as well as Websters American 1828 Dictionary of the English Language)
"So that He may strengthen and confirm and establish your hearts faultlessly pure and unblamable in holiness in the sight of our God and Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah) with all His saints (the holy and glorified people of God)! Amen, (so be it)!" 1Thessalonians 3:13
The first meaning of the word restore is to bring back to existence, or the like, to reestablish. Is this not what happens when He comes in and saves us? He takes us from darkness and brings us into the light and He sets us on high with Him. I love what the word establish means. To found, institute, build, or bring into being on a firm or stable basis: to establish. He brings us back to solid ground in Him. That is so good!! If we continue to study the Word and meditate on it we can be firmly established in Him! What this brings to mind is on the Solid rock I will stand. These verses represent what it is to be firmly established in Him. "He only is my Rock and my Salvation; He is my Defense and my Fortress, I shall not be moved. With God rests my salvation and my glory; He is my Rock of unyielding strength and impenetrable hardness, and my refuge is in God! Trust in, lean on, rely on, and have confidence in Him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts before Him. God is a refuge for us (a fortress and a high tower). Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]!" Psalm 62:6-8
I love these verses because I know He has got my back and on Him I firmly stand!
The second meaning or restore is to bring back to a former, original, or normal condition; a former place or position. I think about how before I was saved I was not living in the way God intended for me to live. I was not in my original, planned purpose that God has for me. When I accepted Christ He started restoring me to my original purpose. He started making me more like Him which is how I was originally supposed to operate. Amazing? Yes! There are a few verses that go really well with this meaning so I will add them here below.
"Restore to me the joy of Your salvation and uphold me with a willing spirit." Psalm 51:12
"For whatever is born of God is victorious over the world; and this is the victory that conquers the world, even our faith." 1 John 5:4
"Thus says the Lord: Behold, I will release from captivity the tents of Jacob and have mercy on his dwelling places; the city will be rebuilt on its own [old] moundlike site, and the palace will be dwelt in after its former fashion.Out of them [city and palace] will come songs of thanksgiving and the voices of those who make merry. And I will multiply them, and they will not be few; I will also glorify them, and they will not be small. Their children too shall be as in former times, and their congregation shall be established before Me, and I will punish all who oppress them." Jer. 30:18-20
The third meaning of restore is to give back, make return, or restitution of (anything taken away or lost). There are so many great verses on this meaning of restore. Joel 2:25 says, "And I will restore or replace for you the years that the locust has eaten–the hopping locust, the stripping locust, and the crawling locust, My great army which I sent among you." He will restore (replace) the years that were taken from us. In Isaiah 61:7, Job 42:10, and Zechariah 9:12 God tells us that He will restore two-fold, twice as much, and double what the enemy has stolen. Now that is something to get excited about! He will not only restore what has been stolen but He will double that to more than enough! In Jeremiah 29:14 God said He would restore Israel to the place where He originally wanted them. This happened in 1948 when Israel became a nation once again! I believe that if we have fallen off the path He had for us He will restore us to our place in the body of Christ. We may not get there as fast as we would like, but we will get there. In Deuteronomy 30:3-5 it is saying the same thing about restoring them to the land He had for them but with an added promise. "He will do you good and multiply you above your father." This is a promise to you and me that He will Bless us above and beyond our parents. This really excites me!!
I decided to combine these two meanings because they are very similar. To reproduce or reconstruct int the original state; To repair, to rebuild. When we asked Jesus to come into our hearts He made us a new creature (2 Cor. 5:17). From that very moment the rebuilding starts. Now it is up to us to read our Bibles, meditate on the Word, and pray and seek Him. When we do this it allows the Lord to repair our broken hearts and rebuild, or restore, them to their original state. When I think of the Word reconstruct I think of something that is in disrepair, something that has been neglected that must first be torn down and then the rebuilding process can begin. God does this same thing. He tears down the walls that we have set up so He can continue to grow us back into our original state. We were created in His image. (Genesis 1:27) We look like Him, but we also must act like Him. He can restore us to that with the help of the Holy Spirit. Let's just say we are all a work in progress. We will one day meet our Savior face to face and be brought back fully to our original state.
So this meaning of restore was I think my most favorite out of all of them. To revive; to resuscitate, to bring back to life. To me this is what Jesus represents. He died to bring us back to life! He breathed life into use! When we ask Him into our hearts He breathes new life into our spirits. Not only did He give us new breathe, He gives us a fresh start. He remembers our sins no more! (Isaiah 43:25, Heb. 8:12, 10:17, Jer. 31:33-34) I love that every time we come before Him and ask for forgiveness it is done for us and He doesn't remember those sins! The one story I thought of when I saw this meaning was Ezekiel and the dry bones in the valley. (Ezekiel 37:1-10) God told Him to prophesy over the dry bones and God raised them back to life. He breathed new life into them, placing a spirit in them, and putting flesh back on those bones. He restored them! Lazarus also is brought to my mind! (John 11:1-57) There are so many verses that could go with this meaning. I will add these for you to study on your own. Just let each one really sink down into your spirit. Acts 3:19-21, Jeremiah 29:11, 2 Cor. 5:17, John 5:24, John 3:16, Ruth 4:15.
Here is a great song about Ezekiel and the dry bones by Casting Crowns: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8MWGJ5EFjkE
So I saved the last meaning for the end because this is what I originally intended to write about. I will probably end up writing another post going into further detail. The final meaning of restore is: To bring back to a state of health, soundness, or vigor (active strength or force). To heal; to cure; to recover from disease. These two different meanings are very similar yet so different. So the first half to me really is not only about your physical body but about your mind, soul, and spirit. When I think of soundness I immediately think of 2 Tim 1:7. "We don't have a spirit of fear but of power, love, and of a sound mind." This is one of my go to verses when I feel fearful. It is a great reminder to me that I was not made to fear but to love.
The last part of the first meaning really stuck out to me. Vigor (Active Strength and force). This is what each of us should have! We should be a force for God! Hope (expectancy) in the Lord renews our strength and power. (Isaiah 40:31) The more we learn about God and His ways the more expectancy that is built up inside of us. We can expect to be healthy, we can expect to be a force for God, and we can expect to live a strong fearless life! I don't know about you but I want vigor! I want to be an active force for God!!
The second meaning is: to heal; to cure; to recover from disease. This has been on my heart for awhile. I know so many people who say they believe in healing but they don't speak healing or they don't really think God will do it for them. I am here to tell you that God WANTS you healed and healthy!! Let me ask you this question: What good are you to the kingdom of God if you are sick or depressed? Can you truly do what God has called you to? Before you freak out please hear me out!! God came and suffered greatly for each of us. He was beaten, bruised, and hung on the cross for our sickness and disease. He went to hell for those three days and defeated Satan so we wouldn't have to carry that sickness or disease, that problem that you are struggling with. He bore it all for us! Really let His love for you sink in! He loves you so much He died for you! Now I am not saying that Satan won't try to come against you with sickness or disease. He most certainly will. The thing is you don't have to take it! You can tell him to get out and get under your feet! He has to leave at the name of Jesus! You must speak God's Word to stop Satan from coming in! You may ask How do I know what to say? You have to go search the Word and find what it says about your situation. When you find something, even if it is only one verse, speak it out! If you need healing go find every scripture in the Bible that speaks about health, healing, and miracles God has already performed. Healing is not just for the Jesus time. Healing is for now and I believe He wants each and everyone of us healed and living in health every day of our lives! There are plenty of verses in both the old and new testaments about healing. I will add some verses below to help you get started. Get the revelation and begin speaking them!
Jeremiah 30:17, Mark 8:25, Hosea 6:1, Psalm 103:1-5, Luke 4:18, Jeremiah 17:14, 1 Peter 2:24, 3 John 2, Exodus 23:25-26, Exodus 15:26, James 5:14-15, Proverbs 4:20-22, Psalm 34:19-20, Psalm 107:20, Psalm 118:17.
Now go out there and get restored in every area of your life! Read His Word and SPEAK it into your life! Know God loves you know matter where you are or what you are going through. He already knows just talk to Him! He will meet you where you are! <3
This song is one of my favorite songs and it is all about the restoration Jesus brings to us. https://youtu.be/VqehS9s2E2k
"You bring restoration to my soul"
