One of the things that at the heart of our faith, and is one of the reasons for our hope, is that God is a God of redemption.  God restores, God brings hope, God brings life.  God is never finished with us or finished with His world.  He is always at work.

I think one of the reasons why I always love the Psalms is because a couple of truths always seem to be floating around within every text. First, life, and many things in life can be hard and challenging.  Life is not always easy.

But second is this.  God is not done yet.  God is not finished.  He is always at work, always up to something, always bringing hope and restoration, even when things look lost.  Listen for both of these things this morning in Psalm 69: 34-38:

34The afflicted shall see and be glad; *
you who seek God, your heart shall live.
35For the LORD listens to the needy, *
and his prisoners he does not despise.
36Let the heavens and the earth praise him, *
the seas and all that moves in them;
37For God will save Zion and rebuild the cities of Judah; *
they shall live there and have it in possession.
38The children of his servants will inherit it, *
and those who love his Name will dwell therein.

The Psalmist says the afflicted shall see and be glad.  The prisoners are not dispised.  The Lord listens to the needy.  God will rebuild.  He will save.  The Lord will restore.

Knowing that a couple of things to hold on to today.  If you are in a place of brokenness this morning, hold on.  The Lord sees.  The Lord knows.  The Lord is not blind or deaf to your needs and your concerns.  He is aware.  He knows He loves, and He is present.  Don’t give up, even if it is tough.  Keep walking, keep believing, keep hoping, even if just in this moment.  Then the next moment.  And the next.  And the next.

Second, the reason why we can hold on today is because the Lord has promised that He is going to restore.  He is going to bring life.  He is going to bring hope.  He will save Zion and Judah.  Hope will come again.

Don’t give up today.  Better days are coming. The Lord will restore.

And for those of us today that are in a place of joy and peace, in a place of calm, remember who made this possible.  The Lord.

There are those that have been restored in the Lord, and there are those that the Lord longs to restore.  Today, if we are among the restored, praise Him!  And today, if we are not, hold fast.  He is not finished.

The Lord will restore.

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