7-DAY DEVOTIONAL BIBLICAL REFLECTIONS OF RESTORATION
Restore NYC’s mission is to end sex trafficking in New York and restore the well-being and independence of foreign national survivors.
REBUILDING THE LIFE INTENDED restorenyc.org
A LETTER TO YOU Dear Friends, We are thankful that you have this devotional in your hands. At Restore, we are constantly reminded how God’s story intersects with our story and the stories of the women we serve. We invite you into this journey with us. We hope that through these short readings and reflections, you too might experience more of who God is and what He is doing in our world and city. Gratefully, The Restore NYC Team
DAY 1: FLOURISH DAY 2: DELIVER DAY 3: WELCOME DAY 4: FAVOR DAY 5: KINGDOM DAY 6: VICTORY DAY 7: RENEWAL
FLOURISH “…God saw all that he had made, and it was very good.”
— Genesis 1:31
FLOURISH READ:
Genesis 1
REFLECT: In Genesis, we see God speaking the world into existence and proclaiming what he made as very good. People were in right relationship with God, with each other, and with all of creation. This perfect world order is often understood by the Hebrew concept of “shalom”, a world operating in complete harmony. How refreshing! Family was not dysfunctional. Society was never unjust. The 6 train was never crowded. Put simply, everything worked how it was supposed to, just as God intended it. In the creation story, we get to see God’s intention for humanity to thrive; for each and every one of us to experience the fullness of human flourishing.
RESTORE: At Restore, we believe human trafficking is the antithesis of human flourishing. We routinely describe our work as “rebuilding the life intended”. We do this not by our own strength or even by our own definition. Rather, we view our work as joining with God to rebuild the life He intended for every survivor of human trafficking—a life meant to thrive, a life created to flourish. Modern-day slavery has no place in God’s plan.
RESPOND: Pray for human flourishing and shalom among people. Where is God asking you to contribute to flourishing and rebuilding the world He intended?
DELIVER “Then the Lord said, ‘I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters. I know their sufferings, and I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey…’ ” — Exodus 3:7-8
DELIVER READ:
ÂExodus 3:1-12
REFLECT: Toward the end of Genesis, God calls his servant Jacob to cross international borders and bring his family into Egypt. While residing there as foreigners, the Hebrew population prospered and increased in great numbers. But when a new Pharaoh rose to power, he saw the Hebrews as a threat to his rule and possible sympathizers with enemy nations. So, Pharaoh made the Hebrew people his slaves. The situation became unbearable for the Hebrew people. They cried out to their God, in desperate need for a deliverer. And God responded.
RESTORE: At Restore, we serve incredible women who have experienced incredible harm. For our staff, it can be overwhelming to hear story after story, one harsh reality after another. But in these moments, we are reminded that we serve an incredible God. We serve a God who sees the afflictions of people oppressed by modern-day taskmasters. A God who hears their cries. From the brothel to the parlor. From the club to the cantina. From the street to the suite. God sees. God hears. God knows. We believe God has called Restore to come with Him to deliver every woman from the hands of their traffickers and bring every survivor to a land overflowing with healing, justice, and opportunity.
RESPOND: Pray for those longing for deliverance. Where can you join God as an advocate for freedom?
WELCOME “…You shall treat the stranger who sojourns with you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt…” — Leviticus 19:34
WELCOME READ:
Leviticus 19:33-34
REFLECT: In the book of Leviticus, God lays out instructions for how the people of Israel can be set apart exclusively for God’s glory and be the earthly representation of God’s Kingdom. In these laws, we can get a glimpse of God’s heart for the foreigner, or the immigrant. God instructs the people of Israel to treat the foreigner as one of their own community. Yes, they might speak a different language, eat different types of food, they may even be Patriots fans. Yet despite their Tom Brady jerseys, God says love them like you love yourself and your own family. Welcome them to the neighborhood. Invite them over for the game. God does not highlight the major differences between the community of Israel and the community of immigrants. Instead, God points out one profound similarity—you were strangers once, too.
RESTORE: At Restore, we serve foreign national adult women. Many have left difficult circumstances in their native country, hoping to find economic opportunities and care for their families. Many of us have a similar story. Someone in our family—maybe a parent, or a great great great grandmother—had to leave their home country and migrate to the United States. Someone in our family history was once the stranger. And right now, in 2017, the women we serve at Restore are the strangers sojourning in our city and this country. Restore’s Economic Empowerment program seeks to provide safe, sustainable, and life-giving jobs to the women we serve. But equally important, it invites immigrant women into a community.
RESPOND: Pray for people who are different than you; a stranger, foreigner, or immigrant. Where is God moving you to welcome others as the native among you?
FAVOR “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant…” — Luke 1:46-48
FAVOR READ:
Luke 1:26-56
REFLECT: God shows up where we least expect it. Mary, the mother of Jesus, was an unwed teen mother from the wrong side of town. During the ministry of Jesus, someone heard that he had come from Nazareth, which prompted the response, “What good could come out of Nazareth?” Mary was not from a well-known family. She did not come from money, nor was she highly educated. For all intents and purposes, Mary was not favored in the eyes of the world. But in the Gospel of Luke, we see God choosing Mary to be the mother of the long-awaited Messiah—the anointed King who would make everything right. In God’s eyes, Mary was highly favored.
RESTORE: At Restore, over 70% of the women we serve are mothers. Many never had access to a good education. Many have limited opportunities for work. Many come from countries with unfair reputations. Simply put, many women are not from favorable life circumstances. They are women who come from situations like Mary. And where we often least expect it, God shows up. We witness God bringing healing where before there was only brokenness. We witness God bringing financial independence where before there was only poverty. We witness mothers being reunited with children where before there were oceans of separation. Time and time again, we see favor.
RESPOND: Pray for God to continue to show up and grant favor where we least expect it. Where does God’s favor conflict with how you or the world determine favor?
KINGDOM “Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” — Matthew 6:10
KINGDOM READ:
Matthew 6:5-14
REFLECT: In Matthew 6, Jesus instructs his disciples on how to pray and lays out what we know today as the Lord’s Prayer. This is a prayer that many Christians can recite effortlessly. Yet a common pitfall when something becomes so familiar is that we become strangers to its extraordinary meaning. Jesus teaches this into a context of competing viewpoints on prayer. Different religious factions argued that their way was the right way. Soon, prayer became about the group itself and not about God at all. But Jesus teaches his followers to pray, “Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” Your kingdom God—not mine, not Rome’s. Your will—not mine, not my religious group’s. And may it be on earth—in my home, at my work, in my city—like it is in heaven. In outlining the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus refocuses this contentious conversation back to its proper subject: God. A holy Father, the rightful King, with a Kingdom reflecting His love.
RESTORE: According to federal law, a person becomes a victim of sex trafficking when force, fraud, or coercion is used as a means to make that person provide sex services for money. Many women we serve become victims because of coercive circumstances and coercive people. Where people in positions of power threaten a woman’s safety or livelihood, in order to coerce her to do what she does not want to do. These threats become so routine, it simply becomes “normal” life. And in order to cope with these circumstances, what is “normal” for women soon becomes “acceptable”. But at Restore, this is not acceptable. This is sex trafficking. So, we long to see your Kingdom come God, not the commercial sex trade’s. We ask to see your will be done, not a trafficker’s. And we desire for survivors to experience a new normal, a life of heaven today on earth.
RESPOND: Pray for God’s Kingdom to come and disrupt all systems of exploitation. Where can you join Him in bringing His Kingdom and glory to earth?
VICTORY “Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen.” — Luke 24:5
VICTORY READ:
Luke 24:1-12
REFLECT: The resurrection of Jesus is essential to the Christian faith. It’s sort of like caffeine and coffee—if it’s decaf, then what’s the point? Jesus of Nazareth, though he was innocent, took upon himself the sin of the world. Paul wrote that Jesus “became sin” even though “he knew no sin”. Jesus took all of it to the cross upon which he was crucified by Roman authorities and Jewish religious leaders. But the cross was not the end of the story. Three days after being crucified, Jesus rose from the dead. When the group of faithful women went to Jesus’ tomb, it was empty. Jesus overcame all evil and every sin imaginable—past, present, and future—through the resurrection. So that in Christ, we have victory even over death itself.
RESTORE: At Restore, confronting the problem of human trafficking can feel like a losing battle. A problem that estimates 21 million victims worldwide and generates $150 billion in illegal profits; with two-thirds of that money from the commercial sex industry. Yet in the face of these overwhelming numbers, we look to the name of Jesus. We look at Jesus on the cross and say, “Yes, the cross was big enough even for that.” It was big enough for human trafficking. Big enough for the profits of a $150 billion criminal trade. Big enough for the pain of 21 million individual lives. And we know that the story continues after the cross. Through the resurrection, we can proclaim victory in Christ. There is victory over gender-based violence. There is triumph over trauma. There is complete healing from harm. To be clear: the reality of the resurrection does not excuse us from solving the problem of human trafficking; it empowers us. Because Jesus has risen.
RESPOND: Pray for the women we serve to experience God’s victory. Where is God calling you to live in and proclaim His victory?
RENEWAL “And he who was seated on the throne said, ‘Behold, I am making all things new.’” — Revelation 21:5
RENEWAL READ:
Revelation 21
REFLECT: The book of Revelation was written by the apostle John while in exile on the Greek island of Patmos. John had been persecuted by the Roman emperor for his radical faith and banished to the island for good. Imagine that isolation, especially without Netflix. In the midst of exile, John receives an inspired vision of the new heaven and new earth. John gets a glimpse of God coming in all His glory, in radiant and extravagant light. John sees God’s Kingdom coming in full—shalom being restored. It was not an escape, nor was it a return to the garden. It was renewal in a city.
RESTORE: In 2010, Restore opened the first safehome in the Northeast for foreign national survivors of sex trafficking. The home is a place of healing, rest, and empowerment. But by no means does the safehome work like a “switch”, where everything is better and easier overnight; far from it. Healing is hard, regaining independence is a process, and justice is always long. Yet in the midst of these many challenges, safehome residents and staff get to see glimpses of indescribable beauty. They share in experiences of life being made new. When shame passes away. When strength supersedes suffering, and tears transform to delight. Behold, God is making all things new. At Restore, our faith is encouraged by both the vision of what is to come and by the experiences of that vision in real time. When the women we serve in this city, even for a moment, experience what we imagine to be true in that holy city—the New Jerusalem.
RESPOND: Pray for God’s continued renewal through Restore’s work. Where is God calling you to join in His renewal of your work, family, and city?
REBUILDING THE LIFE INTENDED restorenyc.org