Saturday, October 6, 2018

Restoration May First Mean Removal

Photo by Kanko 2007

I dreamed that I was attending a church retreat at a rural location in which there were several small, primitive outbuildings scattered in the woods. After the long drive to get there, I wanted to change my clothes and freshen up before the services began, so I went into a shed, locked the door and sat at a small dressing table. There was no electricity, but enough light penetrated the small grimy window for me to barely see my reflection in the mirror.

As I began applying my makeup, I was horrified to see that the blush and foundation were disintegrating in their containers, and that clumps of bristles were falling out of the brushes. I realized too late that the shed where I had chosen to change was actually used for antique furniture refinishing, and that the fumes from paint stripper and other solvents were eating away at the cosmetics, not to mention my skin and lungs!

I ran out of the shed in a panic and was relieved to breathe the fresh air outside, to experience the light breeze and warm sun on my skin, and to rinse my face and hands in a bubbling fountain. As I discarded the cosmetics and applicators, I was surprised to experience a sense of freedom, rather than anxiety or embarrassment, at not being able to conceal my imperfections.

When I awoke the next morning, I was reminded of a sermon I had heard the day before on God’s power of restoration. Before God can restore a believer to spiritual wholeness, sometimes He allows His child to experience a great financial, physical, or emotional loss.

The symbolism of the dream reminded me that before a fine antique can be restored to its original beauty and design, it must first be stripped of layers of paint, varnish, and grime. Thoughtfully applied makeup may enhance our physical appearance, but we must remove it and thoroughly wash our face at the end of the day, or our skin will break out in blemishes. Cleansing is essential not only to take off the makeup, but also dead skin cells and dirt that accumulate during the day.

As we go through life, we become adept at quick fixes: a dab of concealer to hide dark circles after a sleepless night; a forced smile when our heart is breaking; or a white lie about our friend’s new dress complimenting her figure, to distract us from addressing her shopping addiction resulting from emotional neediness.

But these quick fixes cannot fool God. There is no sense in trying to hide our weaknesses from Him, for He knows all about them and us, even better than we know ourselves (Job 42:3; Psalm 139:1-6). He knows not only our sins of omission or commission, but even the dark thoughts that seep from our wicked heart (Psalm 139:23-24). He knows our physical, financial and emotional problems and is working on the solution before we even ask Him (Matthew 6:8,32).

Yet sometimes the solution to our crisis, or even to our chronic challenges, is radical removal of what we think we need to solve the problem on our own. In the dream, the makeup fell apart and became useless before I could even apply it, and the paint stripper fumes forced me outdoors into the light, where cleansing and healing could begin.

The breeze and fresh air symbolized the renewing power of the Holy Spirit (Genesis 1:2; Acts 2:1-4), and the sunlight and fountain represented Jesus, the Light of the world (John 8:12) and the Living Water (John 4:10-14; Revelation 7:17) from Whom all blessings flow (James 1:17).

Jesus taught that on our own, we can do nothing (John 15:5), but that with God, all things are possible (Matthew 19:26). Through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, The apostle Paul realized that God’s grace is sufficient, and that His strength is made perfect in our weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9). Yet so often we turn to our own feeble, manmade strategies that give us a false sense of control, rather than taking our burden to the foot of His cross and leaving it there for Him to handle in His perfect way, with His perfect timing (1 Peter 5:7).

But sometimes when we feel we are being stripped of our own illusory powers, we panic and fail to realize that His greater plan is at work. Sometimes He must bring us to our knees and remove all that we hold dear before we accept that He alone holds our future; that He will allow no trial into our life unless it is for our good and His glory (Romans 8:28); and that His infinite love (1 John 4:8), power (2 Samuel 22:33; Psalm 62:11) and wisdom (Job 36:5; Daniel 2:20) will restore to us many times over what we have lost.

This is clear in the story of Job, who through no fault of his own suffered the loss of all that he had, except for his life and that of his spouse. God allowed Satan to strip Job of his children, wealth, and health, to settle a dispute between Himself and Satan, and to allow Job the opportunity to prove himself faithful to God even in extreme adversity (Job 1).

But when Job was faithful not only to accept God’s will, but also to pray for his “friends” despite their lack of encouragement and support, God restored to him his health, his wealth many times over, and even blessed him with more children  (Job 42).

The ultimate example of removal before restoration is when God brings a nonbeliever to his knees by whatever means necessary – danger, disease, financial crisis, loss of a loved one. As the saying goes, there are no atheists in foxholes. These extreme trials may result in devastating loss, yet if they bring someone to abandon their reliance on self and trust in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 15:1-4) as the only Way (John 14:6) to Heaven, the eternal restoration infinitely outweighs the removal of temporal assets.

When we experience loss in our lives, may we prove faithful as Job to trust God for the ultimate, manifold restoration of priceless blessings!


© 2018 Laurie Collett




 


8 comments:

Brenda said...

Hi Laurie, I love the way that God reveals things through dreams. The speaker in the church I attend was speaking this morning on the fact that it is what we are on the inside that is the real 'us', not what is seen on the outside. However we try to portray ourselves to the world, God always sees the real 'who we are' - it is Spirit verses flesh.
God bless Laurie, and thank you for sharing.

Laurie Collett said...

Hi Brenda, Praise the Lord that He knows everything about us, even the inside that we keep hidden from the world, and yet He loves us anyway! But knowing our weaknesses, He works in our lives to mold us more into the image of His Son.
Thanks as always for your comment, and God bless you!
Laurie

Frank E. Blasi said...

Dear Laurie,
Job is one extraordinary fellow! Yet he stayed true to God, even to the extent which Abraham might have failed (he lied to two rulers at different times over Sarah to save his own life).
However, among unbelievers, some may go through some very difficult times - and still remain unbelievers with an alternative explanation for the cause of his troubles, rather than acknowledging God and submitting to his will.
But I do agree that God can bring tribulation with the purpose of repentance, and according to the book of Revelation, many do respond, such as to the ministry of the 144,000 Jews specifically sent out (Revelation 7). But despite ongoing heavy troubles, many a heart remains hardened, as in the case of Revelation 16:9-10. Yet I still believe that God's primary wish is to lead us to repentance by enjoying good things he bestows, according to Romans 2:4.
As for your dreams, indeed God can and does speak to you through them. However, the affect of the paint stripper affecting your lungs - according to my own experience in sleep and dreams - any physical effect during sleep can be put down to the actual inhalation of the fumes whilst in bed, and sends an emergency signal to the brain to wake up. I can recall several similar experiences throughout my life. Nevertheless, I accept that in your case the dream had a supernatural element.
A good read, God bless.

Laurie Collett said...

Dear Frank,
I agree that many hearts continue to be hardened, no matter how many blessings or how much tribulation God allows into their lives. I have several acquaintances who seem to go through one trial after another, yet who refuse to acknowledge or accept the help and comfort that only God can provide.
You are right that external stimuli certainly can affect our dreams. Once I dreamed I was in an industrial fire, and when I awoke, there was a terrible smell of electrical wires burning, as a transformer had blown and "fried" several of our appliances! But there was nothing unusual in terms of odors or fumes when I awoke from the dream described in this blog post.
Thanks as always for your Biblically-based comment, and God bless,
Laurie

Donald Fishgrab said...

Great post, Laurie. So often the things we think we need the most actually stand in the way of being what God intended us to be. As you pointed out, he removes those things to accomplish his purpose. Unfortunately, sometimes we cling tightly to those things and get angry when they are taken away, because we don't trust God.

Laurie Collett said...

Thanks, Donald, for your encouragement and insights! Your comment is a great reminder to me today to trust God in His pruning process, which ultimately is so that we can bear more fruit.
God bless,
Laurie

Susan said...

Hi Laurie ❤️ I used the phrase “no atheists in foxholes” just a couple of days ago, on an atheist group in Facebook! To say to them that if they continue to reject and mock God the Bible warns that those who do so will find that when they are in trouble and seek a Him He will reject and mock them the way they did to Him 😢 and to seek Him now while He can be found...we always try to fix things ourselves, and like you stated, they are very temporary and superficial fixes. When God fixes things He does it perfectly and permanently. I’m reading through the book of Isaiah, and love how Isaiah tells it like it is. We need to look to the real true Lord of heaven and seek His will, not the fake “gods” that we think will do our will.

Laurie Collett said...

Hi Susan,
I love Isaiah too, and how it is like a miniature version of the entire Bible! Praise the Lord for His permanent restoration! May we have the wisdom to abandon our temporary "solutions" and rely only on Him.
thanks for your insights and God bless,
Laurie