Restored

“And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.”

1 Peter 5:10

‭‭

Have you heard of kintsugi? It is a form of Japanese art where you repair broken pottery with lacquer mixed with gold or silver. These pieces of pottery are not broken intentionally; rather, life happens and they break or chip. This art form takes what people consider trash or broken and turns it into a beautiful work of art, with gold streaks throughout the entire thing. If you haven’t seen a picture of it, you really should check it out. It is gorgeous.

It has to be broken to be rebuilt, though… which reminds me exactly of 1 Peter 5:10.

I heard this verse at camp. I taught kids about it for weeks before the verse truly sank in. I was sitting in my small group, comprised of fourth and fifth graders, teaching them about Christ and how He makes us new creations in Him. I would rather slow down and look at each part of this verse.

Grace can mean many things. The biblical context of grace is my favorite, though. One of the original words the Greeks used is "charis." It is a favor, a free, unearned gift, or an act of kindness for someone who did not deserve it. The Hebrew uses a few words as well; my personal favorite is "chanan." It’s a verb that means to be gracious or to act with compassion. The God we love, the God we serve, is a God of all grace, all compassion, all kindness. He is a God of every form of compassion and kindness.

He is also a personal God. The verse does not say that He calls the church, it does not say He calls your family, it says, "who called you." The God of all grace is a personal, intentional God who wants a relationship with us. He calls us to His glory, His greatness, radiance. The verse doesn't end there, though.

A common question I see online and in theological debates is, "Why would God put someone through bad things?"

I'd be lying if I said I never had the same question. I remember asking the Lord a question no one should ever ask at sixteen: "How could my best friend dying be in your will? How could that be used for your glory? How could a God of compassion, a God of love, allow the life of a sixteen-year-old to be taken?"

I still struggle with those answers, but that’s the flesh talking, not the spirit. God does not turn His face away from those who struggle with those questions. The Creator of the universe can handle your confusion.

At the beginning of this, I talked about the art of kintsugi—the unintentional breaking of pottery, which is then remade to be stronger and more beautiful. That’s what this verse is talking about.

God cannot make you stronger if you have nothing to improve. He cannot make you into a new creation if you think no improvements are needed. If something breaks, we know what needs to be made stronger. We will suffer as believers. It is not a maybe; it's not an if. It is a will. Luckily, we follow the God of all grace. We follow a God who takes the suffering Satan tries to inflict and transforms it into something for His glory.

The verse finishes with this: that God Himself, not an angel, not some man—God Himself—will restore you. He will make you strong. He will make you firm. He will make you steadfast.

In my questions throughout my faith, which I must confess as someone in my twenties, I have a lot less experience than other women who have been following Christ for much longer. Every time something hard happens, every time I feel like the world is crushing me, the Lord provides relief.

The relief is not only for the big things but also the small things. The God who gave me a family and a church who helped me get through the loss of my best friend is the same God who gave me a coworker who highlighted a verse in my Bible. The God I’ve kneeled to, sobbing about the pain my own mind inflicts on me, who gave me relief from that burden and suffering, is the same God who celebrated when I decided to follow him in fourth grade.

In no way did God make these struggles; free will and Satan did. Every single struggle, every single hurt, the Lord has seen me through. Every single one has made me stronger in my faith. Every single burden, every time I suffered, the Lord himself saw me through it. He saw me. He used the hurt to help me reach other people. He used the hurt for His glory.

I couldn’t ask for a greater God. The God we serve is one of grace, who will ensure that throughout the suffering, God will restore us, make us stronger. He will make us new.