“Restore us, O God;
Psalm 80:3
make your face shine on us,
that we may be saved.”
Furniture restoration has become a growing trend in the last few years. The process of restoration can take time depending on the state of the furniture. Often the steps involved in restoration may include, sanding, painting, staining and other tedious tasks to make an older piece shine again. In Psalm 80, we see the people of Israel long to shine again as well. They have fallen on hard times and do not feel that there is much hope for the future. Throughout the Psalm, the plea to be restored is repeated along with, to return and to be revived by the Lord. The desire of the Psalmist was to see a restoration and transformation take place so that they could once again enjoy fellowship with the Lord.
Spiritually, some of us may need to be restored as well. The people of Israel understood their need for restoration – they felt the separation from the Lord – and desired to be close once again. Much like the layers of damage on a piece of furniture, our sin creates a layer of separation from the Lord. To be restored, we need to turn to the Lord alone and ask Him to forgive us and believe in Him. Only the Lord can take our past hurts, heal them and use them, scratches and all, for us to shine again. We can return as a new creation and one day live again with the Lord in Heaven. Let us rejoice for what only the Lord can produce in us, through us, to ultimately bless us.