Sometimes we go through life and experience situations we were never meant to face. That’s not to say life doesn’t have challenges or difficulties—the Bible says we will have tribulations and trials, and that is promised. But sometimes we encounter things that were never part of God’s plan for our lives: a tragedy, a trauma, a disappointment, a betrayal, or a really bad experience.
You can seem to move on with your life and move forward. Time passes, and you’re no longer thinking about it every day. But if you haven’t been healed from the emotional or mental weight that experience gave you—if you’ve subconsciously tucked that pain away—then something is still unresolved.
Jesus said, in John 10:10 (ESV), “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.”
Even if your life is truly great now and things have been added to your life that are blessings, if there is still some kind of pain, resentment, or negative association connected to that traumatic experience, then you can’t fully live the life of abundance that Jesus came to give you.
It was never meant for human bodies to carry trauma, sin, or disease. Adam and Eve were created to live in perfect conditions. But through their sin and disobedience, when sin entered the world, so did imperfect conditions—tragedy, trauma, disease, suffering, and brokenness.
But we were never meant to carry it.
Jesus says: “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28–30 ESV)
Did you know it is God’s desire and design for you to be restored, healed, and delivered? So much so that He sent His one and only Son to die for you—for your sins—and to be beaten and bruised for your physical and emotional healing.
Isaiah 53:3 (ESV)
He was despised and rejected by men,
a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief;
and as one from whom men hide their faces
he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
Romans 8:32 (ESV) says, “He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?”
We are made in the image of God. We were created to give Him praise, to be carriers of His love and presence, and to imitate Christ—not to be bogged down by sin and mental torment. In fact, Christ was a man of sorrows who carried our grief and sorrows so that, in Him, we wouldn’t have to carry them anymore and could be healed.
I’m not saying that you can’t grieve or experience pain and go through normal processes in life. But you don’t have to endlessly carry the weight of never-ending sin, despair, and sorrow that was never meant for you to carry. There is a rest in Jesus and in His presence. His presence and anointing (the tangible presence of God) can take any weight off your life—whether that’s depression, sickness, fear, addiction, debt, or any kind of trouble.
The Bible says in Isaiah 10:27 (KJV): “And it shall come to pass in that day, that his burden shall be taken away from off thy shoulder, and his yoke from off thy neck, and the yoke shall be destroyed because of the anointing.”
There are people in the Bible who went through devastating situations—yet they chose to stay close to the Lord. Eventually, God restored them to something even greater.
Joseph was betrayed by his own brothers, sold into slavery, falsely accused, and thrown into prison. Yet he remained faithful and kept his integrity. In God’s timing, he was elevated to second in command over Egypt and used to save many lives—even the very brothers who betrayed him. God didn’t just restore his relationship with his family; He promoted him to a position of leadership that impacted a nation.
Ruth lost her husband, yet chose loyalty to her mother-in-law, Naomi, who had also lost her husband and her two sons. Through her faithfulness and hard work, she found favor with Boaz, and God blessed her with a new family and legacy (she became part of the lineage of the coming Messiah—Jesus!). Naomi, too, was blessed through Ruth’s obedience.
Ruth 4:14-15 (ESV) Then the women said to Naomi, “Blessed be the Lord, who has not left you this day without a redeemer, and may his name be renowned in Israel! He shall be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age, for your daughter-in-law who loves you, who is more to you than seven sons, has given birth to him.”
Job lost everything—his children, his health, his possessions. Yet he did not turn away from God. He didn’t listen to his wife, who told him to “curse God and die.” He kept his faith. In the end, he prayed for his friends who misunderstood him, and God restored him, giving him double what he had before.
God is still a Restorer.
He can restore what was lost—time, opportunities, peace, health, joy, and resources. “I will restore to you the years that the locust has eaten” (Joel 2:25).
But often, restoration follows a step of faith:
Joseph remained faithful in the face of opposition and betrayal. He could have easily become bitter, but he chose to remain faithful to the Lord.
Genesis 41:41 (ESV): “And Pharaoh said to Joseph, ‘See, I have set you over all the land of Egypt.’”
Ruth chose loyalty and diligence after severe loss. She could have easily gone back to her hometown after Naomi told her to, but instead she followed and served her mother-in-law.
Ruth 1:16: “But Ruth said, ‘Do not urge me to leave you or to return from following you. For where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God.’”
Job chose not to turn his back on the Lord when he lost everything. He prayed for the people who ridiculed him, and God restored him and blessed him with double. The Bible says he lived a long life.
Job 42:10 (ESV): “And the Lord restored the fortunes of Job, when he had prayed for his friends. And the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before.”
Job 42:17 (ESV): “And Job died, an old man, and full of days.”
Your step of faith or obedience may seem small or insignificant to you, but it could be the very thing that catapults you into the next season of your life. Ask the Lord to guide your next decision. Trust Him to bring complete restoration to your life. Ask for His grace and mercy, and believe that He is able to bring beauty from ashes. That’s His speciality!
You are capable of GREAT things!