HOPING FOR RESTORATION

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

And one thing more: Prepare a guest room for me, because I hope to be restored to you in answer to your prayers.

Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, sends you greetings. And so do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas and Luke, my fellow workers.

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.

Philemon 22-25

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Entering 2024, I think a common thought on a lot of minds is the matter of restoration and a desire for things to return to some sense of normalcy.

As wars rage between Ukraine and Russia as well as Israel and Hamas, Hezbollah, and other entities in the Middle East that would wish harm on God’s chosen nation, we find ourselves praying for a cease to fighting and a restoration of peace in our world.

In the United States, we wrestle with inflated prices on almost everything needed for standard, daily living. Whether gas, groceries, rents, or utilities, budgets are being stretched and even broken in many places and instances. This has led millions of people to yearn for relief and the restoration of pricing that is reasonable and affordable.

Many people enter the new year with afflictions that have seemingly gone on with no end in sight. Their faith and strength to persevere and endure have been severely tested as they try to hold onto hope that they will be restored to full health again one day in the future and regain a regular quality of life again.  

These are just a few examples of many and maybe you have a few of your own to add, possibly the restoration of a broken relationship or a faith in the Lord that has waned due to life circumstances. Thankfully, we serve One who is in the business of rejuvenation and regeneration, One through which all things are possible, One who we can always place our full trust in.

As we look at our closing verses from Paul’s letter to Philemon, we find him sending greetings from a brother Christian who was incarcerated with him in Rome (Epaphras) as well as his “fellow workers, Mark, Aristarchus, Demas and Luke present with him in the capital city of the Roman empire before wishing the “grace of the Lord Jesus Christ” to be with the spirit of his “dear friend and fellow worker”. We also see Paul expressing his own hope of restoration through these words:

And one thing more: Prepare a guest room for me, because I hope to be restored to you in answer to your prayers.

Note the selfless nature we see in the Apostle through this statement. He didn’t start his letter with hopes for himself. Rather, he commended Philemon, as well as Apphia and Archippus, before advocating for Onesimus, the runaway slave who somehow found his way into Paul’s company in Rome where he received Gospel mentoring and chose to give his life to Christ Jesus. This was a massive change for Onesimus, one that had present and future implications. For as he returned to Colossae and his master Philemon with the hope of restoration, he did so not so much as a slave but rather as a brother in Christ. And while we don’t know what happened when Onesimus returns, we have to believe in our heart of hearts that the Lord was in the midst of that reunion, facilitating reconciliation, forgiveness, mercy, and grace. Perhaps, Philemon may have even set his captive free. One day, I we’ll know fully what we don’t know now and I know I am excited to learn “the rest of the story” as the famed radio personality Paul Harvey used to say.

Well, as mentioned, it was only after his staunch advocacy for Onesimus that Paul adds “one more thing”. He saved himself for last as he shared his own hope for the Lord to release him from captivity and restore his personal freedom. Confident that the Lord would deliver him from incarceration, Paul instructs Philemon to “prepare a guest room” as he believed God would answer the prayers being lifted up in Colossae for him.

As you pray for restoration, no matter the circumstances leading to it, do you do so with a bold confidence that the Lord can make it happen?

Perhaps we begin this way but we always run the danger of finding our faith waver, much like Peter walking on the water but then sinking when he begins to doubt (Matthew 14:25-33). In our humanity, we lack the ability to persevere through our own strength but when we get outside ourselves and place our full hope in the God who makes restoration commonplace, we can develop and display a sure trust that He has a will for our situation and see us through until that will is carried out in His perfect time and in His perfect way.

As we remember this very short letter to Philemon, I pray that we will recall the themes of reconciliation and restoration, two of the most beautiful gifts that the Lord can provide and produce in our lives when we put him at the heart of all we do.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.