When God Restores What Life Has Damaged

Ren Schuffman
Dec 16, 2025
5 min read

When God Restores What Life Has Damaged

Life has a way of leaving us feeling scratched, broken, and discarded. We look at ourselves and see only the damage - the mistakes, the wounds, the imperfections that make us feel worthless. But what if our perspective is completely wrong? What if the very things that make us feel like trash are actually opportunities for God to demonstrate His restoration power?

The Difference Between Human Perspective and God's Perspective

When we damage something we once valued, our natural response is to throw it away. A broken phone, torn clothing, or scratched furniture quickly finds its way to the trash. We discard items not because their original design was flawed, but because we failed to maintain them properly or because life wore them down.

This is exactly how many people view themselves after experiencing life's hardships. They see their scratches, wounds, and imperfections and assume they're destined for the spiritual trash heap. But God operates completely differently than we do.

Where We Discard, God Restores

The beautiful truth is that God doesn't throw away what's been damaged - He specializes in restoration. Where we see junk, He sees potential. Where we see irreparable damage, He sees an opportunity to demonstrate His power to make all things new.

You may have lost your shine, but you haven't lost your design. Your condition may have changed, but your original worth in God's eyes never has.

What Does It Mean to Be Righteous?

Proverbs 24:16 reveals something profound about righteousness: "For a righteous man falls seven times and rises again, but the wicked stumbles in times of calamity."

This scripture challenges our understanding of what makes someone righteous. Notice that the righteous person falls seven times, while the wicked person only stumbles once. The difference isn't in the falling - it's in the getting back up.

Righteousness Isn't About Perfection

The righteous person isn't someone who never falls. They're someone who refuses to stay down. They understand that a fall doesn't change their righteousness, a stumble doesn't alter their destiny, and a wound doesn't cancel their calling.

The number seven represents completion - a full cycle. Even if life knocks you down completely, God can raise you up completely. Your chip doesn't cancel your calling.

The Story of Moses and the Staff

Moses' encounter with the burning bush provides a powerful picture of God's restoration process. When God told Moses to throw down his shepherd's staff, it transformed into a serpent. Moses ran from it in fear, but God commanded him to pick it up again.

From Shepherd to Deliverer

That staff represented Moses' identity as a simple shepherd. But when he released it on holy ground, it became something more - a symbol of authority to deliver nations. God was shifting Moses from managing sheep to setting people free.

The serpent wasn't random symbolism. In Egyptian culture, Pharaoh's crown featured a cobra representing ultimate earthly authority. When Moses' staff became a serpent, God was demonstrating that His authority supersedes all human power.

What You Run From Becomes What You Rule

Moses learned a crucial principle: what you run from in fear can become what you rule with authority when you submit to God's plan. The very thing that intimidated him became the instrument of his greatest victories.

When you refuse to face something, it feels like a serpent. But when you pick it up in obedience to God, it becomes authority in your hands.

Why the Enemy Keeps Talking to You

Here's something to consider: if you were truly worthless, why does the enemy spend so much time talking to you? People don't hang out at garbage dumps or have conversations with trash. They discard it and move on.

The enemy's constant lies about your identity are actually proof of your value. He's terrified that you might discover who you really are. His attacks aren't evidence of your worthlessness - they're evidence that he sees you as a threat to his kingdom.

Stop Letting Others Define Your Worth

Too many believers allow other people's opinions to dictate their value and limit their potential. But your worth doesn't come from human approval. Your purpose isn't determined by popular opinion. Your assignment isn't validated by social media likes or church politics.

The people criticizing your scars weren't there when you were climbing the mountain to get your view. Don't let their opinions determine how high you're allowed to go.

God Doesn't Crown the Perfect - He Crowns the Obedient

You might feel scratched, but you're still sovereign. You might feel chipped, but you're still chosen. You might feel neglected, but you're still anointed.

God doesn't look for perfect people to use - He looks for obedient people to restore. The qualification isn't perfection; it's willingness to get back up when you fall.

Your Desert Season Is Almost Over

Many believers are in a season of feeling discarded and overlooked. But God is saying it's time to pick up your staff of authority. It's time to stop shrinking back from what He's called you to do.

You're not as weak as you suppose. You're not as broken as you think. You're not too old, too young, or too damaged for God to use powerfully.

The Church That Restores

The body of Christ should be known for restoration, not rejection. Instead of discarding people who stumble, we should be reaching out our hands to help them get back up. Instead of obsessing over others' failures, we should be offering hope and healing.

We must stop being pharisaical and religious in our approach to broken people. The righteous aren't known by how they fall, but by how they rise - and how they help others rise too.

Life Application

This week, it's time to pick up your staff of authority and stop running from what God has called you to do. Whether you've been wounded by life, rejected by people, or discouraged by your own failures, God is ready to restore you and use you powerfully.

Stop allowing the enemy's lies about your worth to keep you sidelined. Stop letting other people's opinions determine your value. You have breath, which means you have purpose. You have scars, which means you have a testimony. You have authority in Christ, which means you can make a difference.

Questions for Reflection: