On a recent trip to Paris, I visited the Notre Dame Cathedral. This was my first visit since the devastating fire in 2019, and I was amazed at the restoration. The workers who restored the Gothic lady seamlessly blended the past with the present. I’m sure the new roof is sturdier and made with better materials, but it still looked original—if only a little cleaner. I love visiting ancient landmarks, but knowing what this old lady had been through made me appreciate her more. She was more beautiful than I remembered, and with her restoration complete, she’ll host many more admirers for decades to come.
Our Lord similarly restores us. In the messiness and heartbreak of life, we often feel broken and beyond repair. As you survey your life, you might think it’s a hopeless cause—like a burned-out church, with reminders of former glory. Where you once were whole, there are now gaping holes, caused by other people, sad circumstances, or bad choices. Regardless of how or why the wreckage was caused, you have hope because God is the Master Restorer.
Jesus loves to restore what is broken, not just with external fixes but deep internal heart-change. The story of Scripture from the Garden of Eden to the New Jerusalem is a story of restoration and redemption—God reversing the curse and making all the sad things untrue. Your story is no different if you are in Christ. The wreckage you see today is the material from which God loves to work to make something new.
20 Bible Verses About Restoration
- 1 Peter 5:10 (ESV)
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. - 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. - Joel 2:25-26 (ESV)
I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten, the hopper, the destroyer, and the cutter, my great army, which I sent among you. “You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, and praise the name of the Lord your God, who has dealt wondrously with you. And my people shall never again be put to shame. - Acts 3:19-21 (ESV)
Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus, whom heaven must receive until the time for restoring all the things about which God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets long ago. - Zechariah 9:12 (ESV)
Return to your stronghold, O prisoners of hope; today I declare that I will restore to you double. - Galatians 6:1 (ESV)
Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. - James 5:16 (ESV)
Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. - 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. - 2 Corinthians 5:17 (ESV)
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. - Psalm 23:3 (ESV)
He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. - Amos 9:14 (ESV)
I will restore the fortunes of my people Israel, and they shall rebuild the ruined cities and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and drink their wine, and they shall make gardens and eat their fruit. - 2 Chronicles 7:14 (ESV)
If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land. - Psalm 71:20 (ESV)
You who have made me see many troubles and calamities will revive me again; from the depths of the earth you will bring me up again. - Ruth 4:15 (ESV)
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.” - Mark 8:25 (ESV)
Then Jesus laid his hands on his eyes again; and he opened his eyes, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly. - Jeremiah 24:7 (ESV)
I will give them a heart to know that I am the Lord, and they shall be my people and I will be their God, for they shall return to me with their whole heart. - Proverbs 6:30-31 (ESV)
People do not despise a thief if he steals to satisfy his appetite when he is hungry, but if he is caught, he will pay sevenfold; he will give all the goods of his house. - Psalm 16:10 (ESV)
For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption. - 2 Kings 8:6 (ESV)
And when the king asked the woman, she told him. So the king appointed an official for her, saying, “Restore all that was hers, together with all the produce of the fields from the day that she left the land until now.” - Joel 2:25 (ESV)
I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten, the hopper, the destroyer, and the cutter, my great army, which I sent among you.
The Gospel is about Restoration
Tim Keller once said, “The gospel is not just about forgiveness. It’s about restoration—God’s work to make all things new through Christ.” One day, Jesus will return to restore all creation, and in the meantime, he’s at work, refining you as his work of art (Eph. 2:10). Whether your wounds are visible or hidden, whether your ruin came suddenly or slowly, God sees it all—and he has not forgotten.
Just as the Notre Dame stands as a testament to human restoration power, your life in Christ is being built stone by stone. Whatever evidence you see of wreckage is an opportunity for you to give God glory for his restoration power in your life. If you’re still breathing, he’s still working, making you more like his Son, redeeming and restoring what’s been lost. And someday, that work will be complete, and you will be finally and forever restored (Phil 1:6).
So take heart, friend, no matter what’s been lost or broken, your God is a Redeeming God who loves to make all things new (2 Cor 5:17).
Cara
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P.S. Our hope for future, final restoration rests upon a right relationship with Jesus Christ. Are you rightly related to him? Have you surrendered your life to him? A believer’s confidence is rooted in our union with Christ. Consider this free download to explore some of your riches if you are in Christ.
