And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. I Peter 5:10 ESV
This word, Restore, has rolled around in my head over the last year. After a year or two of releasing and pivoting away from old wounds, pushed aside dreams, and a change toward things more proper for my age and health, it’s as if God sat down with me over a cup of tea and said, “Now I will restore what you’ve allowed to harm your heart and your mind.” Some things were not of my own doing, but sometimes I allowed them to move into my mind and set up house – much like a squatter!
Restore returned to my mind often this fall. I prayed over it and wondered why God brought it back to my thoughts. I had a suspicion it was as if He was giving me permission and I thought—I’ve released, I’ve pivoted, now I can restore. But restore what?
Turned to Scripture
At a loss, I turned to scripture and looked up restore in the concordance because the only scripture that came to my mind was about restoring what the locusts had eaten. It couldn’t be that. Or could it?
But another scripture I came to first before I Peter at the top of the post, was Psalm 23:3a – He restores my soul. Okay, but from what, Lord? Help me see.
Then I landed on I Peter 5:10. The tears welled in my eyes. The first time I read it was more like: something, something – suffered – something, something – will restore, confirm, strengthen. I couldn’t see, but knew I had to take a moment and sit in those words.
The answer began to come together, combined with Psalm 23:3a, I saw I had been wounded by words, rejection, my heart left torn out and trampled on and my soul was weak.
Time to Let Go
As I read those verses over and over, I realized it was time to release all those hurts, pivot toward the face of God, and allow him to restore my soul. Also, to open up my heart and allow Him to re-confirm, re-strengthen, and re-establish me in my place in the family of God.
I was ready to allow him to restore my soul. Are you ready to let him restore yours too? You only need to ask.
Tammy Karasek uses humor and wit to bring joy and hope to every aspect in life. Her past, filled with bullying and criticism from family, drives her passion to encourage and inspire others and show them The Reason to smile. From down and defeated to living a “Tickled Pink” life, she believes there’s always a reason to giggle! Tammy writes romance—with a splash of sass. Her book, Launch That Book, second edition, released December, 2025.
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Hi Tammy, great post! I’ve had those same periods where I had to let go of the hurt and allow God to heal and restore. This is wonderful encouragement!
Thanks, Kelly!