VL - Issue 43- April 22

STEPPING FORWARD
Restored
to Usefulness
I HAVE HEARD THAT ONE
person’s junk is another person’s
treasure. One of my favorite
hobbies is to wander
through thrift stores looking
for a bargain. The aisles contain
things that might qualify
as junk to some, but for some
reason, their previous owner
donated them instead of dumping
them. I love it when I find
something that I need or that I
know I might use. On a recent
treasure hunt, I found an old
guitar collecting dust behind
a counter. I recognized it right
away as a Yamaha.
The color of the wood of an
acoustic guitar can help identify
its age. The older the guitar,
the richer the tone. By the dark,
almost orange tint of this one,
I could tell it had seen many
years and plenty of tough times.
It looked water damaged and
had a large crack in its upper
side. Its neck was bowed, and
residue caked its strings. Despite
these blemishes, I decided
that this old Yamaha needed a
home and some tender love and
care. With a little negotiating,
I bought it for $60. The case I
carried it home in looked even
worse than the guitar itself.
I took my new treasure to my
favorite guitar repair guy, Bobby.
He’s a master at repairing
instruments. He looked it over
and shook his head.
“Bad, huh?” I asked.
“Not good,” he replied. “I
think we can fix her up so she’ll
at least be playable though.”
“That’s all I want.” I left
knowing the old guitar was in
capable hands.
Two weeks later, the repairs
were complete. I was excited
to go pick up my restored
treasure.
BY KENNY MUNDS
Bobby had a big smile on his
face when I walked in. “Try her
out and tell me if she’s okay.”
I was more than pleased.
Bobby had worked a miracle
to bring the old instrument
back to life. To top it off, he only
charged me for the strings. Talk
about God’s favor in action!
My “new” Yamaha has a
beautifully rich sound and a
renewed purpose. I even take
it to prison events and tell this
story during my performances
to encourage those who think
a restored life is out of reach.
Many people think there’s no
hope, that God couldn’t possibly
want or use them for anything
good. But 1 Corinthians
6:20 says, “You were bought at
a price. Therefore honor God
with your bodies” (NIV).
Every one of us is in bad
shape before we are “purchased”
by God through the
blood of His precious Son.
We might feel beaten down,
tossed aside, and abandoned
with little hope, but when we
put our faith in Jesus, we put
ourselves into the hands of the
master repairman. No matter
what dark place we’ve come
from, He gives us lives full of
meaning and purpose that we
never thought possible.
I’ve witnessed this hundreds
of times in the lives of people
I have ministered to. I’ve seen
lost souls surrender to Jesus
behind prison walls, and as
they grow older and wiser and
their roots in the Lord grow
down deep, their knowledge
and perception deepen as
well. They become beautiful
instruments that God uses to
teach and mentor the younger
inmates coming in fresh off the
street.
Jesus warned us that we
would not live without difficulty,
but we can all cling to
the promise that He will restore
us, confirm us, strengthen us,
and establish us by His grace
(1 Peter 5:10).
Occasionally, I’ll take my
old Yamaha guitar in to repair
a crack here and there. In the
same way, sometimes life causes
damage to me—and when it
does, I make another visit to the
foot of the cross, and I pray that
I will remain a useful instrument
despite the wounds I’ve
suffered.
Do you need restoration? It
doesn’t matter whose fault it
is or how you got to where you
are—in God’s eyes, you are not
junk. Your life is valuable to
Him. If you are willing to put
everything that is damaged into
the hands of the master repairman,
He will keep His promise
to clean you up and make you
new and useful once more (2
Timothy 2:20–21).
KENNY MUNDS takes the good
news of God’s love and forgiveness
into prisons across America. To
learn more about his ministry, go to
kennymundsministry.org.
32 Issue 02 / 2022 VICTORIOUSLIVINGMAGAZINE.COM