One of the biggest questions heading into the NFL season was how would Deshaun Watson, Andrew Luck, and Carson Wentz play after returning from their injuries. Would they be able to perform at a high level and play as well as they did before the injury?

So far this season, all three players have admirably reminded us of how talented they truly are. Deshaun Watson has led the Texans to five straight wins and during their last game, he threw five touchdowns with only four incompletions. It looks like he’s healed well from his knee injury.

With Carson Wentz also knocking off the rust, Philly.com has written an article with the headline, “Carson Wentz is Playing Brilliantly.” It goes on to say, “Statistically, Wentz is playing better in his first six games of this year than in his last six games of last season. It could be argued that he has outperformed himself compared with any six-game stretch of 2017.”

Wow, he has bounced back from a major knee injury to play even better!

Andrew Luck has shown that his shoulder injury is behind him by making the Indianapolis Colts competitive again. During his last five games, he’s thrown 3 to 4 touchdowns each week. It appears his shoulder has been restored and he’s back to being Andrew Luck again.

I admit, I’m a fan of all three of these quarterbacks and I’m so glad they are back and playing great. As I think about these players going from being injured, broken, and discouraged to now being restored, renewed, and revived out on the field, I’m reminded of the spiritual parallel.

We all go through seasons where we end up broken, disappointed, injured, worn out, and beat up, and need to be restored. Not only do we need to be ourselves again, but we need to come out “playing” even better than before.

When we look at Scripture and the character of God, we can see over and over again that He’s a restorer. He takes people that are broken and heals them, renews them, and revives them.

1 Peter 5:10 (ESV) says, “And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.”

In the story of Job, verse 42:10 (AMP) reveals, “The Lord restored the fortunes of Job when he prayed for his friends, and the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before.”

We’re encouraged in Psalm 147:3 (ESV) that “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.”

Today, if we feel worn out, beat up, down, or injured, let’s find our hope in the God of restoration. If we’re struggling today with our faith, let’s be reminded of Jesus’ wonderful work on the cross and the initial restoration He’s done in our heart.

Let’s recognize God continues to restore us from the inside-out and gets us back “out on the field” to do the work He’s called us to. I’m Bryce Johnson and you can unpack that!

PRAYER: “Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a loyal spirit within me. Do not banish me from Your presence, and don’t take Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, and make me willing to obey You” (Psalm 51:10-12; NLT).