A few weeks ago during a time of worship at church the Lord showed me a picture of a broken ceramic bowl that had large fractures and small thin cracks. A bowl that was so broken that it was barely holding together.
The picture then became a moving vision and I noticed a glow from within the bowl. Before my eyes this bowl was filled with golden liquid light that began to fuse together the broken pieces and make the bowl whole again. As I watched this process I saw the light spill out over the whole bowl, making it radiant and highlighting forgotten features such as engravings and intricate and beautiful designs.
I painted this special vision to give to a friend to encourage and remind him of the good work that the Father was doing in His life; a work of deep restoration. I found encouragement in this vision for myself as I have so needed the Father's ability to restore in my own life and heart and to believe in his goodness to work all things together for good for me.
Hopes disappointed and dreams dashed...
So when did my life go pear shaped and my dreams go down the toilet, at least for a while anyway? About five years ago after receiving some big prophetic words and feeling the Lord's leading, my wife and I bought a business and moved into it by faith—not knowing the hard road that was ahead and being naïve in many ways.
Zealous for the Lord and believing that we could change the world by just stepping out for God, we started a prayer meeting in the art gallery where we felt called into business. We had every financial pressure on us imaginable and no business experience, no capital to work with and we had moved away from our closest support network to follow God's still small voice.
I was excited at the challenges though, and I felt ready back then to take anything on including the spiritual warfare that smacked us in the face from day one. I could envision the venue being such a wonderful creative space; a hub for artists and community as well as a thriving business. The artist in me wanted to be immersed in the local art talent and learn and be inspired from it all.
The short story is that only ten months later my wife and I were faced with a tenancy termination, all of our belongings under the back porch and really no place to go. This new business venture was left in tatters. What had started with so much potential was now in ruins and as a result my dreams were not just dashed but my ability to dream and believe was shattered too.
God the restorer...
All I can say is thank God that He is the Restorer and he didn't allow the story to end there. After all, as the Father's son I inherit all God's promises for my life as his love-gifts to me. This includes the powerful scriptures which I have come to know and love about restoration:
I will build you up again and you Virgin Israel will be rebuilt. Again you will take up your tamborines with singing and go out to dance with the joyful. (Jeremiah chapter 31, verse 4.)
They will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated;
they will renew the ruined cities that have been devastated for generations. (Isaiah chapter 61, verse 4)
Amen. This is what happened to me. I sit here now as a restored man, having experienced the Father's love slowly healing me and rebuilding me, brick by brick with His truth.
The slow rebuild...
Many, many people prayed for me during this time of highs and lows and my deep need for God's touch. I have to be honest: if it wasn't for the constant intercession from my wife and her holding onto the promises of God for me through multiple scriptures, songs and encouraging words over these past four years, I certainly would not be in such a place of restoration.
This has been such a lesson about the power of God's word and the need to continue to hold this as the ultimate authority in my life rather than circumstances.
The Father's restoration brings us into wholeness...
With the Father's restoration he has opened up again my ability to dream and to believe once again in the big plans he has for me as an artist and also to encourage and raise up other artists in his kingdom.
In recent times the restoration has felt more like a waterfall of blessing as the Father lovingly has opened numerous doors with miracles of provision. He has grown us into maturity to be able to carry the vision and giftings he has given us.
Over the season of losing that business there have been many times that I felt the real pain of those cracks and at times didn't think that I could be brought back together.
The truth was that God was with me in those cracks and he was not just with me, he was showing me glimpses of the healed person that I could be. As those small cracks became healed together he then would show me the next big crack and begin to heal that too. I was learning that from the place of intimacy with the Lord all things are truly possible. Before I knew it I started to resemble that vessel again.
I hope my story and testimony encourages you with the truth that God is the Restorer; he can mend broken hearts and restore our faith and hope in him and in our future. God is always always good and we often see just how good after our testimony comes to a glorious end.
Written by Justin and Liana Monaghan.
Justin Monaghan is currently launching as a professional prophetic artist under the label JR Faith Creations. He is married to Liana and lives at the beautiful beach of Port Willunga. Justin is also heavily involved in his local surfing community of South Australia as a surf coach, a judge of surf contests and a member of Christian Surfers
Check out JR Faith Creations to see some of his art at www.jrfaithcreations.com
Justin Monaghan's previous articles may be viewed at http://www.pressserviceinternational.org/justin-monaghan.html