On March 1, 2021, folks in Eastern KY woke up to heavy rains and devasting flooding. This came in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, and these two events together brought to many people a sense of hopelessness. God immediately led Rosie and me and our church here at Turners Creek in unmistakable ways to be involved in the work of restoration.
For the last year, we have been privileged to watch God at work, using neighbors to help each other and churches to help their communities. Volunteers have come from many places to help, others have sent money or materials, and many prayers have gone up for the flood survivors and workers. All are working together to restore what had been damaged and destroyed by the flood. But we do a disservice to the kingdom of God when we separate our service into the categories of physical and spiritual. Physical and spiritual restoration go hand in hand. As homes were being repaired, hope was being restored.
“My hope and faith have been restored by what people have done for us. We have found a family.”
After a hard day of work by the volunteers, a lady gave us a picture she had painted with a note on the back, “What you did for me today, speaks louder than any testimony you could give.” Another flood survivor was Larry who had three feet of water in his house leaving it a muddy mess. In a miraculous way God led us to him. He had worked hard to move the building materials for his new garage to higher ground, only to see them swept away by the river. He talks about his feeling of hopelessness as he watched the raging river carry his things away. He and his wife have started attending church at Turners Creek. He says, “My hope and faith have been restored by what people have done for us. We have found a family.”
In Jeremiah 18 the prophet was instructed to go down to the potter’s house to receive a message from God. He watched the potter take a pot that had been marred and reshape it into one that was best for his purpose. Why reshape a marred pot rather than make a new one? Could it be that our loving and creative God knows the value of a restored vessel? I believe God’s challenge to his people, the nation of Israel, and to the church today is that we would allow him to be that Potter shaping us into the people he wants us to be.
Our God is a God of restoration. The Book of Joel is a beautiful picture of God’s desire to restore. The first part details God’s judgment on the sin of the people and the total devastation caused by an army of locusts. In 2:12 we see God’s plea for the people to return to him with all their heart. The conditions for restoration are repentance and obedience. In 2:25 God promises to restore to the people the years the locusts have eaten. Joel 3:16 tells us, “The Lord will be the hope of his people” (KJV).
The conference leadership of CMC has adopted a goal of having 160 thriving churches by 2030. Presently, there are 111 churches in CMC. So, an important part of this goal is planting new churches. We are already seeing this and praying for and believing God will multiply this work. An equally important part of this goal is restoration and revitalization of our churches.
The pandemic of the last two years, the economic struggles of our nation, and natural disasters have taken a toll on many of our churches. Sometimes we feel like we are experiencing Joel 1:4, “What the locust swarm left the great locusts have eaten” (NIV). But our God is a God of restoration.
Revitalization comes to our churches as we yield ourselves to God, and love and care for each other. We here at Turners Creek and in Breathitt County have been humbled and encouraged by the outpouring of love this past year. Let’s pray that God will restore and revitalize our churches as we become clay in the hands of the Potter and feet in muddy water. I believe the people and churches in CMC can experience a great revival in these last days, not because we are great but because of the greatness of the God we serve.
