The younger son believed failure had cost him his place in the family. The older son believed his service and obedience had earned him something more. Both carried an understanding of their father that left them unable to recognise the love already theirs.
This short reflection explores the father’s response to both sons. He runs to meet the younger and goes out to speak with the older. In each encounter, his love invites them beyond shame and earning into a deeper discovery of his heart.
Scripture references: Luke 15:11-32.
Topics: The prodigal son, the older brother, the Father’s heart, shame, earning love, belonging, sonship.
Related Scriptures: 1 John 3:1; Romans 8:15-16; Ephesians 2:8-9.

Episode 5: If You Are Willing? | Fear Is Not the Enemy
You can love the Lord and still find it difficult to trust Him. Pain, disappointment and unanswered questions can shape what you expect when you come close.
This episode turns toward Jesus and the Father He makes known. Through His touch, compassion, welcome and words, we discover the heart of the One we’re learning to trust. There is room to bring Him our uncertainty and allow His patient love to reach the places where coming close still feels frightening.
Scripture references: Hebrews 1:1-3; John 5:19-20; Mark 1:40-42; Matthew 11:28-30; John 13:36-38; John 14:1-11; John 3:16-17; John 16:26-27; Luke 15:1-32; 1 John 4:9-10, 19; Deuteronomy 8:2; John 10:3-5, 11-15.
Topics: Knowing the Father, Jesus reveals the Father, disappointment with God, trust, compassion, belonging, the Father’s willingness.
Related Scriptures: Colossians 1:15; Psalm 34:18; Romans 8:31-39.
Chapters
00:00 Seeing the Father in Jesus00:45 When coming close feels difficult04:33 The Father Jesus Reveals07:29 The question within the need12:15 Show us the Father22:26 The Father goes out again27:07 Becoming familiar with His heart30:22 Receiving the Father's Love31:43 Coming to know Him here
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Prefer to watch this teaching?
Find this episode and the full series through the Teachings page at:https://youtu.be/BOZ9F319ZxI
Learn more about Restored by Love:https://www.restoredbylove.org
About Rebecca Black
Rebecca is the founder of Restored by Love, a teaching ministry centered on knowing the Father, living from our identity as sons and daughters, and allowing His love to bring restoration into every part of our lives.
Restored by LoveTruth • Love • Restoration

Is God More Willing Than We Think?
Have you ever believed God could help you while wondering whether He wanted to? The man with leprosy brought that uncertainty to Jesus: “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.” Jesus reached out, touched him and answered, “I am willing.”
This short reflection explores what this encounter reveals about the Father’s heart. We can bring Him our uncertainty about His willingness and allow Him to meet us in the very place where we’re afraid to ask.
Scripture references: Matthew 8:1-3; John 14:9.
Topics: God’s willingness, the Father’s heart, uncertainty, compassion, healing, bringing questions to God.
Related Scriptures: Luke 5:12-13; Hebrews 4:15-16; Romans 8:32.

The Father Revealed
We can love the Lord and still carry expectations of Him shaped by our failures, weaknesses or sense of what we deserve. Those expectations can affect how we hear Him and understand His presence in difficult circumstances.
This short reflection turns our attention to Jesus, who came to make the Father known. In His compassion toward the fearful, His restoration of the rejected and His care for the broken, we discover the heart of the Father.
Scripture references: John 14:9; John 1:18.
Topics: The Father’s heart, Jesus reveals the Father, knowing God, expectations of God, compassion, restoration.
Related Scriptures: Hebrews 1:3; Colossians 1:15; John 14:7-11.

What Do You See?
Pain, fear and the judgments we’ve carried can shape how we see ourselves and what happens around us. We can bring that whole perspective to the Father, including what we feel, what we think it means and what we expect will happen.
This short reflection explores how our sight is restored through relationship with Him. As we remain with the Lord, we begin to recognise what needs our responsibility, what has come from pain and what we’ve believed that isn’t true. Within His care, we discover safety and begin to trust.
Scripture references: No passages directly cited.
Topics: Renewing the mind, restoration, emotional pain, discernment, honest prayer, safety, trust, seeing through the Father’s love.
Related Scriptures: Romans 12:2; Ephesians 1:17-18; Psalm 139:23-24; John 8:31-32.

The Verdict Brought Home
The younger son returns home carrying a verdict about himself: he is no longer worthy to be called a son. His plan to become a hired servant reflects the relationship he now believes he deserves.
This short reflection explores how failure can shape our expectations of the Father. The father runs to his son, embraces him and restores him. His response invites us to bring Him the judgments we’ve made about ourselves and let Him show us what He sees.
Scripture references: Luke 15:17-24.
Topics: The prodigal son, the Father’s heart, shame, self-judgment, worthiness, sonship, restoration.
Related Scriptures: Romans 8:1; 1 John 3:1; Psalm 103:10-14.

Episode 4: When Judgment Shapes How We See God | Fear Is Not the Enemy
What judgment do we expect when the Father sees the whole truth about us? Sometimes fear grows around a verdict we’ve already accepted about ourselves, our failures or what we deserve.
This episode explores how judgment shapes our relationship with God and the way we see one another. Through Jesus’ encounters and the returning son in Luke 15, we bring those conclusions into the light of the Father’s heart. As He restores our sight, we can recognise harm and take responsibility while learning to relate from His love.
Scripture references: 1 John 4:17-18; Genesis 2-3; James 1:5; John 8:1-11; Matthew 7:1-5, 15-20; John 7:24; 2 Corinthians 5:14-21; Luke 15:11-32; John 9:39-41.
Topics: Judgment, fear of punishment, shame, transactional faith, discernment, reconciliation, self-condemnation, the Father’s heart.
Related Scriptures: Romans 8:1; James 2:13; John 3:16-17.
Chapters00:00 Welcome00:19 When being seen feels dangerous01:58 When our sight of God changes04:17 The Lord comes toward them06:10 How fear becomes a way of relating07:51 The judgements we begin to live from13:20 When Jesus confronts our assessment16:45 When the measure turns toward us20:13 God was reconciling the world25:22 When we become willing to receive sight28:36 Bringing what is rising into His presence
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Prefer to watch this teaching?Watch on Youtube
Learn more about Restored by Love:https://www.restoredbylove.org
Restored by LoveTruth • Love • Restoration

When Relationship Becomes Transaction
“Have I done enough? Have I earned this?” When judgment shapes how we see God, relationship can become a constant calculation of effort, reward and what our failures might have cost us.
This short reflection explores how measuring our standing with the Father through performance creates room for fear and makes rest feel difficult. It invites us to question those assumptions and discover His heart beyond the judgments we’ve used to understand ourselves and others.
Scripture references: No passages directly cited.
Topics: Transactional faith, judgment, performance, earning God’s favour, fear, comparison, resting in the Father’s love.
Related Scriptures: Luke 15:25-32; Romans 8:15; Ephesians 2:8-9; Matthew 11:28-30.

What Have You Decided It Means?
Someone goes quiet, a prayer remains unanswered, or an old struggle resurfaces. Before we’ve had time to understand what happened, we may already feel certain about what it means.
This short reflection invites us to bring both our pain and our conclusions to the Father, especially when the moment touches somewhere we’ve been hurt before. There is room to tell Him what we’re afraid it means and leave the question open as we listen for His response.
Scripture references: No passages directly cited.
Topics: Painful experiences, assumptions, unanswered prayer, fear of rejection, honest prayer, hearing God, the Father’s perspective.
Related Scriptures: Psalm 62:8; Proverbs 3:5-6; Psalm 139:23-24.

What Surfaces Doesn’t Define You
When an unexpected response surfaces, it can leave us wondering whether we’ve gone backwards. Peter’s denial of Jesus invites us to consider that we may be discovering something the Lord could already see.
This short reflection explores how moments of fear, shame or anger don’t erase the love and growth that came before them. Jesus knew Peter would deny Him and was already speaking about what would follow. We can bring what surprises us to the Lord and let Him show us what He sees.
Scripture references: Luke 22:31-34; 54-62.
Topics: Spiritual growth, unexpected reactions, shame, self-condemnation, Peter’s denial, restoration, being known by Jesus.
Related Scriptures: John 21:15-19; Romans 8:1; Psalm 139:23-24.

You don’t have to make your whole truth sound better before you bring it to the Lord. Your anger, questions and uncertainty can all find expression in relationship with Him.
Drawing from the woman who told Jesus “the whole truth” in Mark 5 and Job’s honest wrestling with God, this short reflection invites you to bring Him the places that still hurt. You can speak to Him while questions remain, trusting Him to meet you there.
Scripture references: Mark 5:25–34, especially verse 33; the book of Job (discussed broadly).
Topics: Honest prayer, bringing pain to God, trust, unanswered questions, vulnerability, relationship with God.
Related Scriptures: Psalm 62:8; Psalm 13:1–6; Hebrews 4:15–16.

Episode 3: Perfect Love Meets the Places We Hide | Fear Is Not the Enemy
Being fully known can feel frightening, especially when we’ve learned to protect ourselves from shame, disappointment or rejection. Sometimes those protections look like hiding. Sometimes they look like capability, responsibility and keeping everything moving.
From Adam’s covering to Martha’s busyness, the trembling woman and Peter’s failure, this episode explores how the Lord meets what lies beneath our responses. His love reaches the places we’re afraid to expose, allowing us to discover that being seen doesn’t cost us our place with Him.
Scripture references: Genesis 2:25; Genesis 3:7-10, 21; Genesis 4:5-7; Psalm 139; Psalm 23; Luke 10:38-42; Mark 5:25-34; Luke 22:31-34, 54-62; John 21:1-19; 1 John 4:18-19.
Topics: Perfect love, shame, vulnerability, hidden fear, self-protection, capability, Peter’s restoration, being fully known.
Related Scriptures: Hebrews 4:15-16; Romans 8:1; Psalm 62:8.
Chapters:00:00 When We Learned to Hide06:42 When Our Coverings Look Like Strength15:45 When the Outcome Isn’t What We Expected21:33 When Pain Becomes the Place We Look From38:23 When We See Something We Didn’t Know Was There48:42 Perfect Love Casts Out Fear
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Prefer to watch this teaching?YouTube: https://youtu.be/_fmwt6kx1NM
Learn more about Restored by Love:https://www.restoredbylove.org
About Rebecca BlackRebecca is the founder of Restored by Love, a teaching ministry centered on knowing the Father, living from our identity as sons and daughters, and allowing His love to bring restoration into every part of our lives.

Sometimes fear looks like being capable—seeing what needs doing, caring for everyone and carrying everything because we don’t know what will happen if we stop.
Through Martha’s question, “Lord, don’t you care?”, this short reflection explores what may sit beneath our busyness and responsibility. Jesus responds to Martha with tenderness, inviting us to recognise the places where being needed or staying in control has become a source of safety, and to let His love meet us there.
Scripture references: Luke 10:38–42.
Topics: Martha and Mary, hidden fear, busyness, responsibility, control, finding safety in God’s love.
Related Scriptures: 1 John 4:18; Matthew 11:28–30.

Adam had already covered himself with fig leaves when he told God he was afraid because he was naked. His covering hadn’t taken away his sense of exposure.
This short reflection explores how strength, capability and independence can sometimes cover places where we still feel afraid. When that fear surfaces, it may reveal a tender place we hadn’t recognised, somewhere the Lord is making His presence known and inviting us to know His care.
Scripture references: Genesis 3:7-10.
Topics: Hidden fear, vulnerability, self-protection, independence, feeling exposed, God’s presence.
Related Scriptures: Psalm 139:1-12; Hebrews 4:13-16; 1 John 4:18.

When God says, “Do not fear,” His words reveal His presence and care. He hears Hagar’s distress, speaks peace to Gideon and answers Peter’s sense of unworthiness with reassurance.
This short reflection explores the heart revealed in these encounters. Love comes close, meeting people where they are. As we come to know the One who is with us in our fear, fear begins to lose its hold.
Scripture references: Genesis 21:17-19; Judges 6:22-24; Luke 5:8-10.
Topics: God’s love, fear, God’s presence, reassurance, knowing God, Hagar, Gideon, Peter.
Related Scriptures: 1 John 4:18; Isaiah 41:10; Psalm 34:4-7.