Everything You Lost, Returned!

 

Zechariah 9:11-13(NLT)
“And you, because of my blood covenant with you, I’ll release your prisoners from their hopeless cells. Come home, hope-filled prisoners! This very day I’m declaring a double bonus – everything you lost returned twice-over!”

If something precious to you is lost, or worse, it’s taken or stolen from you, you’ll probably try to get it back. It’s not a stretch to say that in the future, you will also take a few measures to ensure this doesn’t happen to you again. It’s no secret that in life, we lose things that are very important to us. Whether it’s material treasures, a job, house, car, or a relationship, these losses can be devastating. Sometimes, despite our best efforts, it can appear as though we’re not going to get these treasures back and that is a challenging thing to accept. God reminds us in Zechariah 9:11-13 that when we lose a treasure, we are not without hope. He is our hope! When our trust is firmly placed in God, He restores, replenishes, and gives us back everything we’ve lost twice-over. 

Trust bigger
Ephesians 3:20(NKJV) says, “Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us.”  This verse tells us that God’s power and willingness to help us is exceedingly abundantly above anything that you and I can think or imagine. Therefore, we should never measure a problem by our own ability to deal with it. Our losses, troubles, and obstacles should be measured according to who will be handling them. Our all-powerful, brilliant and perfect God is the One that handles everything that seeks to hold us back or keep us down, and our faith should be firmly planted in Him. 

2Corinthians 9:8(NKJV) says, “And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work.” The job, house, car, money or relationship is not the source of our happiness. If we think that, we’re sadly mistaken. God is the Source of all good things. He’s our sufficiency and Provider, and we need to fully grasp this truth so that our faith is increased. Again, our Heavenly Father is all-powerful and all-knowing, and His love for us is unconditional and unlimited. He is always on our side, and no problem is too big for Him to solve. God can do anything, and He doesn’t want us to make the mistake of going to other sources. He wants us to lean totally and completely on Him. 

Our trust in God should be bigger than our fear and doubt. Our faith in Him should be bigger than any other reality in our lives. This is an important lesson to learn. In the past, instead of relying on God, we have relied on ourselves and that is not a successful strategy. God’s Holy Spirit is in us, and he is working on the inside, supplying us with the strength to do God’s Will. So, we must decrease in the flesh, and allow the indwelling Holy Spirit to increase so that we are cooperating with the Will of God for our lives.

Be thankful for what you have
God does not take away our blessings or cause us to lose them. Our blessings are stolen or hindered because we have an enemy, the devil, and Jesus Christ tells us in John 10:10 that the devil’s game is to steal, kill, and destroy. When the enemy plays his tricks on us, our response must be a strategic one. Ephesians 6:12(NLT) teaches us, “For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.” This war that we’re fighting is spiritual warfare, and we can’t use weapons of the flesh to fight a spiritual enemy. We must put on God’s spiritual weaponry, so that we are fully equipped.

The Word of God is the Spirit’s sword, and we must put it on in our minds and hearts to remain spiritually strong. 1Thessalonians 5:18(NLT) tells us, “Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.” Rather than being worried, upset, or angry about what you’ve lost, thank God for what you have. Thankfulness is an attitude that pleases God. It conveys our trust in Him, and in the reality that no matter what has gone wrong, He alone will make it right. 

Confess and affirm God’s Goodness
One thing that I learned many years ago was to speak life over my circumstances by confessing and affirming the promises of God. I taught myself to focus my mind on the victory I would receive in my situation. Even though things looked like that weren’t going to work out, I make the choice to place my faith in God and to trust Him no matter how things looked. This is always the choice before us when we’re dealing with problems, loss, and other issues. We can sink low in our minds and hearts and give up, or we can have faith in God, which is what Jesus Christ has commanded us to do. 

God tells us in Proverbs 18:21(KJV) that “Death and life are in the power of the tongue.” We are made in the image of our Heavenly Father. Genesis 1:3(KJV) tells us, “And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.” God spoke light into existence by the power and authority of His Word. He has given us this same ability. When it comes to the tricks and plots of the devil against us, we must make a habit of saying the same thing that God says. We must come into agreement with God through the power of His Word. He tells us in the passage of Zechariah 9:11-13 that He will return what we have lost when our faith is in Him. Therefore, our continual confession should be, “Thank You, Heavenly Father, for blessing me beyond my expectations. You are good and glorious in every way, and according to Your promise, I declare that nothing I have lost will compare to what You will restore and return to me. You are the God of the exceedingly abundantly, and I will increase my faith to expect Your portion of unlimited supply. I receive it all according to Your promises, in the wonderful and powerful name of Jesus Christ!” 

God is so good that even those in cells, imprisoned by their circumstances or wrongdoing, are prisoners of hope, because their hope and faith in God will always be rewarded. Romans 5:5(NKJV) tells us, “Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.” Our hope in God through the Lord Jesus Christ will not fail. If we are committed to put God first and understand that He is a God of the exceedingly abundantly, our hope in Him will yield the manifestation of His promises and power in our lives.■ 

Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. 

"Everything You Lost, Returned”, written by Kim for https://rescuefromdomesticviolence.blogspot.com© 2023. All rights reserved. All praise and honor to God through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.