| First Published in Kouga Express Newspaper |
Some things can be replaced: a lost key, sunglasses, a cosy jersey. Other things take more time to get restored: money, old houses, broken-down cars. Even relationships can get a second chance once new life is breathed into them.
But time can’t be restored – or can it…? Time flies; it does not delay. Once time passes by, you can’t get it back. Once it’s gone, it’s out of your reach. Or is it…?
My early twenties were spent chasing down opportunities, knocking on countless doors, wasting time with frivolous projects. I constantly sowed seeds but reaped little harvest.
My late twenties were spent in and out of hospitals, having operations, working in church offices, even having a relationship that only invited heartbreak and disappointment.
By the age of 30, I said: ‘All these years, and what do I have to show for it?’ Regret, disappointment, and hopelessness had crept into my heart throughout the years. What if I had chosen a different path, made a different choice, did something else instead?
At the beginning of each year, I ask the Lord for a rhema word for the coming year. This year I was given the number ‘21’. I asked the Lord what it meant, and He said to me, ‘You are now 31 years of age; but I am restoring your years. I will rewrite the last ten years of your life. You are 21, once again.’
I took that word and started declaring that over myself and my life. Every time the negative thoughts came creeping in, I said to myself, ‘I am no longer 31; my life is not over, it is just starting. I am twenty-one, young, and full of life.’ Soon I was convinced that I truly am 21! Even people started believing that! That’s the power of our thoughts and the power of our words. What we think, say and declare, soon becomes a reality. Our body can’t help but fall in line.
Almost every single person in Jeffrey’s Bay has a story of restoration. Yes, Jbay is called Dorp van Drome (Town of Dreams), but it also seems that ‘restoration’ has a rightful place in this town.
God gave me a word that he would reset my years, restore the time that was stolen, and give me back my lost dreams. I hold fast to those words. I am 21 again, but of course, the enemy will come and try to take it away. I have to constantly remind myself of these words every time doubt and hopelessness creeps in. That’s why I have a ‘Book of Prophecy’ – it is a book filled with all the words of life people have spoken over me throughout the years. I read it, remind myself of the truth and declare it over my life.
‘The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.’ In other words: the testimony I have of what Jesus has done for me, I get to share with others. It can be done for you as well. My testimony of being ten years younger has been shared with others in Jeffrey’s Bay. I am astounded by how many people can identify with my rhema word. It’s as if hope gets restored in hearts that had long been filled with hopelessness. You’re reading these words, and you can grasp my testimony and make it your own. You can invite Jesus to restore your life!
If you could do redo your life, what would you do differently? God can restore your lost years by multiplying your fruitfulness. He can restore the years you’ve sown in tears. God is the author and writer of time. He can heal your time, just like He did with mine.
If you had a second chance to relive your life, what would you do differently?
*
This song has beautiful words in it – ‘So I will awake | And spend my days | Loving the One who has raised me up | From death to life | From wrong to right | You’re making all things beautiful.’
Mercy by Amanda Cook
Restoring The Years by Donald Lawrence
