The Path to Restoration After Devastation

What is the path to restoration after devastation? Is restoration possible at all? Perhaps you have experienced a heavy loss or heartbreak and ask yourself these questions in your pain and sorrow.

I often ask myself these questions when the grief overwhelms me. The death of my husband was the biggest heartbreak in my life. I have experienced many losses, heartbreaks, and disappointments, but nothing like that. Time passes by, and the pain still remains with the same intensity.

It is not true that time heals and restores. Yes, time can help us get used to the physical absence of the person or things we have lost, but it doesn’t heal the wound. Only God can heal it. Only He can bring healing and restoration after a period of devastation.

Let me share with you 6 steps on the path to restoration after experiencing heartbreak and heavy losses based on Isaiah 49.

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#1 Laying Hold of God’s Faithfulness

Laying hold of God’s faithfulness is a crucial step on the path to healing and restoration because it fuels our hope and gives us a firm foundation. It is good to know that whatever happens to us, God remains faithful and He will never leave us nor forsake us. Not only that, His faithfulness is a guarantee for His provision of everything we need in any moment or situation in our lives. If we need healing and restoration, God is faithful in setting our feet on this path and seeing us through.

“Kings will see you and stand up, princes will see and bow down, because of the Lord, who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you.” (Isaiah 49:7)

God’s faithfulness is a guarantee for His provision of everything we need in any moment or situation in our lives. #encouragement #trustGod #healing Share on X

#2 Trusting God’s Compassion and Mercy

The next step is to choose to trust God’s compassion and mercy. Because of the incarnation, we have a God Who is able to fully empathize with our weakness, sorrows, and pain. Jesus not only understands, but He also feels our pain. God’s compassionate and merciful nature is another firm guarantee for His willingness and decisiveness to bring healing and restoration to our lives.

“They will neither hunger nor thirst, nor will the desert heat or the sun beat down on them. He who has compassion on them will guide them and lead them beside springs of water.” (Isaiah 49:10)

#3 Receiving God’s Comfort

Because of God’s compassionate nature, He is always willing and able to comfort us when we break down. To receive comfort from God means that we receive help, encouragement, and strength so we can carry on and endure the suffering we experience. God’s comfort also prepares our wounded hearts to receive healing and restoration.

“For the Lord comforts his people and will have compassion on his afflicted ones.” (Isaiah 49:13)

To receive comfort from God means that we receive help, encouragement, and strength so we can carry on and endure suffering. #comfort #suffering #encouragement Share on X

#4 Trusting God’s Constant Attention

Often when we suffer and are overwhelmed with pain and sorrow, our feelings let us experience God as distant and perhaps even angry at us. Nothing can be further away from the truth. We need to remember and focus on the truth that not only God is with us and for us, but we also have His special constant attention. We and all the details of our lives are constantly on His mind and He works to bring good and restoration.

“See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are ever before me.” (Isaiah 49:16)

#5 Relying on God’s Intention to Bless Us

God’s intention is always to bless us, no matter what. In Christ, He has already blessed us with spiritual blessings in heavenly places. (Ephesians 1:3). When we feel less than blessed and struggle with pain and sorrow, let’s remember that God’s blessings have a lot to do with our heart and character and with the perfecting of our faith. Out of suffering and tears have come the greatest spirits, and the most blessed lives. (Billy Graham)

Lift up your eyes and look around; all your children gather and come to you. As surely as I live,” declares the Lord, “you will wear them all as ornaments; you will put them on, like a bride. (Isaiah 49:18)

#6 Remembering God’s Promise for Restoration

One of the most important steps on the path of restoration is to remember and put our hope in God’s promise of restoration. God is a Redeemer and God of restoration. He has shown His will and intention to restore humanity to Him by the sacrifice of His Son, Jesus. His desire to restore extends to our personal lives and hearts, too. The Bible is full of beautiful promises for restoration, culminating with the grand restoration at the renewal of all things. (Matthew 19:28-30). Nothing is lost with God.

“Though you were ruined and made desolate and your land laid waste, now you will be too small for your people, and those who devoured you will be far away.” (Isaiah 49:19)

Those Who Hope in the Lord Will Not Be Disappointed

Life presents us with endless opportunities to be disappointed and devastated. However, we are on the safe side when we constantly choose to put our hope in the Lord, in His character, and His Word. This hope will not disappoint. We can rest assured that if we follow the Lord and cling to Him, we will experience His healing and restoration.

“Then you will know that I am the Lord; those who hope in me will not be disappointed.” (Isaiah 49:23)

The Path to Restoration – 6 Steps from Isaiah 49 Printable

I have prepared a printable of these 6 steps to restoration based on Isaiah 49 and the accompanying Bible verses to help you meditate on them. Click on the image to download it.

More Helpful Resources on the Path of Restoration

If you need more resources to inspire and encourage you on the path of restoration, I can highly recommend these books. Check them out.

Draw Near: How Painful Experiences Become the Birthplace of Blessings by Hadassah Treu

A Grace Revealed: How God Redeems the Story of Your Life by Jerry L. Sittser

Restoration Year: a 365-Day Devotional by John Eldredge

All Things New by John Eldredge

The Grief Guidebook: Common Questions, Compassionate Answers, Practical Suggestions by Gary Roe

Return to Me (The Restoration Chronicles Book #1) by Lynn Austin

Keepers of the Covenant (The Restoration Chronicles Book #2) by Lynn Austin

On This Foundation (The Restoration Chronicles Book #3) by Lynn Austin

This page contains affiliate links, which means I make a small commission at no extra cost to you. The commission I make from these items will help keep this blog going. Thank you!

Your Turn

Which of these steps do you need to apply in your situation? Share in the comments. If you have found this article helpful, I would be happy if you share it on social media. Thanks!

Find out 6 steps on the path to restoration after experiencing heartbreak and heavy losses based on Isaiah 49. #restoration #encouragement #losses #Biblestudy Share on X

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