Praying Grace for WomenSample

Restored Treasure

It’s called “mudlarking.” In London, mudlarks are people who walk the muddy banks of the River Thames at low tide in search of lost treasures. They find them with astonishing frequency. It’s not unusual for a searcher to dig up a 2000-year-old roman coin, a Viking sword, Saxon jewelry, or other lost treasures from the past. You’ll find many of these historic finds on display today at the British Museum in London.

When a mud-caked artifact is extracted from the smelly muck of the Thames after centuries of burial, it’s not a pretty sight. But often, after careful cleansing and restoration, something extraordinary, and frequently, even priceless, emerges.

So it was with you and me. A tenacious Redeemer came mudlarking through the mire of this fallen, broken earth. He found us buried in sin, and with gentle care, extracted us from our prison of defilement. He carried us to His domain and washed us thoroughly. Then He lovingly began a painstaking process of restoration and beautification. It is He who began this “goodwork” in us. And it is He who can be counted on to faithfully see it to completion.

Thomas De Witt Talmage (1832–1902) once observed, “The chief beauty of grace is found in the soul. That grace takes that which was hard, and cold, and repulsive, and remakes it new and lovely. It pours upon your nature what David calls ‘the beauty of holiness.’”

Nothing we can bring to our Father is so corrupted or spoiled that it cannot be made new by His love. There is nothing that the fragrance of His grace cannot make lovely. There is no darkness in our souls that cannot be scattered by the light of His love and mercy.

Jesus, the “Mudlarker from heaven,” comes alongside us saying, “Behold, I am making all things new” (Revelation 21:5 NASB). The Artisan of the Universe proclaims, “All that is related to the old order has vanished. Behold, everything is fresh and new” (2 Corinthians 5:17 TPT).

What buried treasure He found when He came across you! Cleansed and lovingly restored, you now display His love and kindness to a watching world.

Prayer of Declaration:

Heavenly Father, You rescued me. But You did more than that; You transformed me, and You continue to do so. Thank You for choosing me just as I was. And thank You for committing to the process of restoring me—moment-by-moment, day-by-day—from the inside out, through the power of Your love and grace. You’re pouring into me, “the beauty of holiness.”