Blessed be the Lord my strength which teacheth my hands to war, and my fingers to fight: My goodness, and my fortress; my high tower, and my deliverer; my shield, and he in whom I trust; who subdueth my people under me. Psalm 144:1-2, KJV

Christianity is not based on metaphorical stories with hidden meanings. It is based on historical facts, i.e., on real life, service, death, and the resurrection of Jesus. The writers noted what they saw and recorded real events. So, if you call yourself a Christan faith and belief in the Bible is the essence. But, what if you are losing your faith and you need to do a faith restoration? 

One great Old Testament figure was King David and a good example of someone who has lost faith and found it again. When King David was supposed to be in the war, he was lazy at home. And since he had a lot of free time, he was out uncontrollably in all places. It is hard for us to believe that a man who was according to God’s heart can go so far and sink so fast. Namely, David committed adultery with Bathsheba. It is quite difficult to believe until we look at ourselves in the mirror. In this, we have the restoration of true faith. His first failed plan was to plant a child that he made with Bathsheba to her husband. His second plan was a success, to kill her husband in the war. David thought since there are no more obstacles he could now enjoy with Bathsheba. God can allow the faithful to fall into sin, but He will not allow them to remain to enjoy it. God was like a grieving parent when his child broke his heart. Therefore, He sent Nathan, the prophet.

Nathan is not wasting any time, so he immediately starts telling a story. The story was about a rich shepherd who did injustice to a poor shepherd. The rich man has many flocks and sheep and cattle while the poor man has only one sheep. He took care of that sheep as if he were a member of the family. But a stranger came to visit the rich man and he needed to prepare a meal. And the rich man decided not to give his own, but to take a sheep from the poor. David did not wait to be asked by Nathan if he knew the man. As David blushed with anger at the injustice, he demanded that justice be done immediately. David’s judgment was death.

David showed great self-righteous anger towards the rich man. He couldn’t imagine that someone who had everything would take the only thing he had from someone. Here comes Nathan’s famous declaration, “You are that man”! Nathan comes before the king with a powerful illustration. And he dares to tell the king himself that the king was wrong. David was losing his faith. He knew that what he did was wrong, and now he had to make it right. But when we compare this Nathan statement with the Bible, we see it is not the restoration of the king's word but the restoration of the faith in the word of God. As God promised, He is always faithful, even when we are not. David did the right thing in the end and married Bathsheba. Their child was the great kind, Solomon. 

Living faith

James, in his book, distinguishes the living faith from the dead. True faith, always and without exception, has deeds, a test of obedience. He quotes Abraham's response to God's command to sacrifice his beloved son Isaac as a model of true faith. (See Genesis 22) And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness. It does not mean that good works necessarily show the presence of saving faith. It means that where true faith is present, good deeds inevitably follow immediately. 

When we are restoring our faith, we do in obedience to Christ. Our lives should be characterized by keeping the commandments. Through a long process of faith restoration, we are more and more harmonizing our will with Christ. The life of Jesus Christ in the New Testament is a model of faithfulness. Faith involves confession rather than speaking; in the last analysis, it is a platform for consecrating one's will to God. Faith fills the content of the mind and captures the heart to the very end, to the appearance of new life.

What about hope?

In other to restore your faith, you need to do a restoration of your hope, too. Well, the Lord wants to come and restore your hope. Hope is one of the three most significant parts of Christianity, alongside faith and love. Hope in the Bible means a confident expectation of the future. Other definitions of hope are a 'trustful expectation or the anticipation of a positive result under God's guidance.' The Lord wants your hope along with your faith to be restored. Believe Him for the restoration of your hope.

Faith, hope, love

As the Bible says in the Second Corinthians, strive for total restoration of faith, hope, love, encourage one another, be of one mind, live in peace. Restoration of love in the Bible is synonymous with healing, renewing, returning to God. We have an example of love restoration in Psalm 51. Although we may stray from steadfast faith and obedience, there are numerous Bible verses we can look to for inspiration for faith and love renewal in our lives.Start today, renew your wows with God.  Learn from David's story and James' lesson. Start restoring your faith, and you will see marvelous God's work in your life!