Complete Restoration

 I am pretty sure that we have all been rejected by another person for some reason. It hurts to be rejected. This is especially true when we were the ones who did something wrong, but in any case it is a very difficult thing for us to handle. We long for complete restoration, but sometimes it doesn't come.

God told Zechariah about His restoration of those who have rejected Him. (Zechariah 10:6) He said that He would strengthen Judah and save Israel. He would restore them because of His compassion. Then, it would be just as though I had never rejected them, because He was the Lord their God, who will hear their cries. That should give us a lot of hope, even today.

When we come to know Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we belong to Him. He is our God, and we are His child. We have a eternal relationship with Him because Jesus died for all of our sins and forgave us. However, we still sin after our salvation, like Peter did when He denied Jesus 3 times. That hurts the Lord because we rejected Him.

God loves us so much that He wants to restore us. He will do that when we confess our sin to Him. Then, we will be restored just as if it had never happened. We do not have to fear being a "second class" Christian or God treating us as less worthy than others. When He forgives, His restoration is complete. He hears our cries and responds to us in love. What a blessing!

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Tomorrow, I intend to read Zechariah 12-14.