“Lift up your eyes all around, and see:
They all gather together, they come to you;
Your sons shall come from afar,
And your daughters shall be nursed at your side.
‘The glory of this latter [a]temple shall be greater than the former,’ says the Lord of hosts. ‘And in this place I will give peace,’ says the Lord of hosts.”
God is the God of redemption and restoration. After the fall of man through transgression in the Garden of Eden, God swung into action and began the work of restoration of man back to His original plan. God executed this grand plan of restoring man back to his former estate and glory, and even much more, through Jesus’ substitutionary work on Calvary. Man’s sins were placed on Jesus and were punished on Him. Jesus Christ died for man’s sins, was buried and was raised from the dead for man’s release from sin’s bondage in order that man might be restored to glory! Today, if you are born again, you have come into restoration of lost glory. We have restoration in Christ. Everything Jesus purchased through His death is available to you in Christ. Adam lost his dignity in Eden by transgressing the commandment of God but through the substitutionary work of Jesus for man, there is restoration of man to glory, honour and dignity.
If you have lost anything of value in time past, understand that God is a God of restoration and that He has restored it to you in Christ. Our opening Scripture speaks of the restoration to Zion of her sons and daughters; sons and daughters that had previously been taken captive by the enemies but now brought back by the restoring hand of God! Haggai 2:9 gives us insight into the nature of God’s restorative work. It says, “The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former, saith the LORD of hosts: and in this place will I give peace, saith the LORD of hosts.” This means that what the Lord restores is always much more than what was lost at first. The glory of the latter house always surpasses that of the former, just as it is in the redemption of man. When God restored the fallen man in Christ, He did to a higher level of glory and estate. The first Adam is a living soul, but the last Adam, Jesus Christ, is a life-giving Spirit. Whatever the Lord does a second time always surpasses the first in glory. Why? This is the principle of redemption and restoration. Beloved, with God it is from one level of glory to a higher level of glory; it is never otherwise. Beloved, as you walk with God by faith, you experience restoration. Lost opportunities, lost friends, lost time, lost resources, lost glory are restored to you by God’s mighty hand in Jesus’ Name.
MY SOLID FRONT (YOUR CONFESSION):
I declare that this is my season of restoration. By the outworking of God’s mighty hand, I have abundant restoration of everything that I have lost in time past in the Name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Further Meditation: Isaiah 49:14-26; Psalms 126:1-3.