“Restore us, O God; make your face shine on us, that we may be saved” (Psalm 80:3). We pray this and know that God is eager to work with us to continue the transformation of our hearts and minds to be more and more like Christ. So what does it look like when God takes on a restoration project?

God has a plan in mind. He redeemed us. He loves us right now, as we are, and yet he has a living vision of you and me that we oftentimes can’t see. He sees us living and growing and thriving in relationship with him and others. 

Restoration is messy. Walls need to come down. Old cabinets get ripped out. Faulty wiring gets replaced. 

God is working on each of us right now. Each of us is in the middle of a spectacular remodel. We can catch a sense of God’s restoration vision for us through the words of the apostle Paul in his letter to the Philippians: “This is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God” (1:9-11). 

Restore us, O God. Let us be like you.