Fresh Start
(Isa 43: 18-19) Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall you not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.
Are you stuck in life and it seems there’s no way out? Are you desperately seeking a fresh start and a new beginning? Many of us have made many mistakes in our lives as Christians. We have experienced many setbacks and failures throughout our lives. Sometimes we allow these mistakes, these setbacks and failures to enslave us to the point that we never enjoy the full Christian life that God has given us to enjoy.
In John 10:10 Jesus said, “I am come that you might have life and have it more abundantly.” Then he goes on to tell us that there is an adversary, called the Devil, that seeks to steal, kill and destroy that life. The Devil will remind us of our past in order to keep us from enjoying the abundant life that God gave us to live. The Devil does not want you to have a fresh start at all. He wants your mistakes to define your existence forever.
The good news is, God says, “I want you to have a fresh start in life, I want you to have a new beginning, I want to do something new in your life.”
Today, the good news according to Isaiah 43:18 is this and these are the words of the Lord “Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall you not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.” God is saying don’t think about the past. It’s over. The book is closed and a new chapter is opening.
We need to understand that God is far more interested in our future than He is in our past. Some people think that God is stuck on their past. That all He wants to do is remind them of the things that they have done wrong. God is more interested in your future than He is with your past. That’s where you’re going to spend the rest of your life. Israel was being punished for their sins and rebellion against God. God wanted to give hope and encouragement to His people. He wanted them to know that even though they were being punished they were not being forsaken.
Maybe that miry clay is the spot where you are today! You probably feel you have made so much mistakes and God should now be done with you. Perhaps you have even failed God very terribly multiple times. I have come to tell you today “It is not over”
Permit me to share with you an interesting formula for starting again. It is themed S.T.A.R.T.
I hope you’ll remember this and pass it along to friends when they have failures as well. Regardless of the failure you’ve had in your life, here’s how you can start over.
S – Stop making excuses.
If I want a fresh start in life, I have to stop making excuses for my failures. I’ve got to stop blaming other people. I’ve got to stop seeing myself as the victim of my circumstances.
Other people can hurt us, other people can harm us, and other people can scar us. But the only person that can ruin your life is you. Nobody can ruin your life without your permission. You have a choice, that is you can choose how you’re going to respond to those hurts. The Bible says that the starting point is to just be honest and accept responsibility for your part of the problems.
Proverbs 28:13 says “He that covers his sins shall not prosper: but whosoever confesses and forsakes them shall have mercy.”
T - Take Inventory.
The second critical step in starting anew is taking inventory. It means evaluating all experiences. You need to look at what is now left of your life, what your position is. Galatians 3:4 admonishes us to review our past. There is a lot we can learn by reviewing your past and present state.
The Living Bible says, “You have suffered so much for the gospel. Now are you going to throw it all over board.” I can hardly believe it.
Learn from your mistakes. Failure can be your friend or your foe. You determine if failure will be your friend or foe by the way you react to it. You can choose to learn from it or choose to repeat it. If you learn from it then it can be your friend. However, if you don’t learn from it is your foe.
A - Act in faith
This is the third step in getting a fresh start: acting in faith. You have to launch out into new territory. The Bible says that the key to changing anything is faith. If you want to change your circumstance, it takes faith. If you want to change your personality, it takes faith. If you want to change anything in your life, you have to have some faith.
Jesus says this in Matthew 9. “According to your faith it will be done to you.” That is a very simple statement but it’s very powerful. “According to your faith it will be done to you.” That means we tend to get out of life what we expect. “According to your faith it will be done to you.“
R - Refocus
Now, it is time to refocus your thoughts if you want to change your life. Proverbs 4:23 says “Be careful how you think. Your life is shaped by your thoughts.“
The way you think, determines the way you feel. And the way you feel determines the way you act. If you want to change your actions, just change the way you think and it will inevitably change the way you act. If you are depressed, discouraged and distressed it may be because you’re thinking depressed, discouraged and distressing thoughts. That’s your choice. You don’t have to think those thoughts. If you’re acting in fearful, worried ways it’s because you’re thinking fearful, worried thoughts. Now it is time to refocus your view, look into a brighter future and start again anew.
T – Trust
At the end of it all, we must fully and completely trust on God. No man can amount to more than what God ascribes to him.
Happy New Month.
Are you stuck in life and it seems there’s no way out? Are you desperately seeking a fresh start and a new beginning? Many of us have made many mistakes in our lives as Christians. We have experienced many setbacks and failures throughout our lives. Sometimes we allow these mistakes, these setbacks and failures to enslave us to the point that we never enjoy the full Christian life that God has given us to enjoy.
In John 10:10 Jesus said, “I am come that you might have life and have it more abundantly.” Then he goes on to tell us that there is an adversary, called the Devil, that seeks to steal, kill and destroy that life. The Devil will remind us of our past in order to keep us from enjoying the abundant life that God gave us to live. The Devil does not want you to have a fresh start at all. He wants your mistakes to define your existence forever.
The good news is, God says, “I want you to have a fresh start in life, I want you to have a new beginning, I want to do something new in your life.”
Today, the good news according to Isaiah 43:18 is this and these are the words of the Lord “Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall you not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.” God is saying don’t think about the past. It’s over. The book is closed and a new chapter is opening.
We need to understand that God is far more interested in our future than He is in our past. Some people think that God is stuck on their past. That all He wants to do is remind them of the things that they have done wrong. God is more interested in your future than He is with your past. That’s where you’re going to spend the rest of your life. Israel was being punished for their sins and rebellion against God. God wanted to give hope and encouragement to His people. He wanted them to know that even though they were being punished they were not being forsaken.
Maybe that miry clay is the spot where you are today! You probably feel you have made so much mistakes and God should now be done with you. Perhaps you have even failed God very terribly multiple times. I have come to tell you today “It is not over”
Permit me to share with you an interesting formula for starting again. It is themed S.T.A.R.T.
I hope you’ll remember this and pass it along to friends when they have failures as well. Regardless of the failure you’ve had in your life, here’s how you can start over.
Other people can hurt us, other people can harm us, and other people can scar us. But the only person that can ruin your life is you. Nobody can ruin your life without your permission. You have a choice, that is you can choose how you’re going to respond to those hurts. The Bible says that the starting point is to just be honest and accept responsibility for your part of the problems.
Proverbs 28:13 says “He that covers his sins shall not prosper: but whosoever confesses and forsakes them shall have mercy.”
The Living Bible says, “You have suffered so much for the gospel. Now are you going to throw it all over board.” I can hardly believe it.
Learn from your mistakes. Failure can be your friend or your foe. You determine if failure will be your friend or foe by the way you react to it. You can choose to learn from it or choose to repeat it. If you learn from it then it can be your friend. However, if you don’t learn from it is your foe.
Jesus says this in Matthew 9. “According to your faith it will be done to you.” That is a very simple statement but it’s very powerful. “According to your faith it will be done to you.” That means we tend to get out of life what we expect. “According to your faith it will be done to you.“
The way you think, determines the way you feel. And the way you feel determines the way you act. If you want to change your actions, just change the way you think and it will inevitably change the way you act. If you are depressed, discouraged and distressed it may be because you’re thinking depressed, discouraged and distressing thoughts. That’s your choice. You don’t have to think those thoughts. If you’re acting in fearful, worried ways it’s because you’re thinking fearful, worried thoughts. Now it is time to refocus your view, look into a brighter future and start again anew.
Happy New Month.
