I Can Begin Again
Restoring my relationship with God and others
Here we are again. The end of a year meets the beginning of a new one. If you’re like me, you may have looked yourself in the mirror and barely recognized the person staring back at you through another year’s worth of questionable choices and excuses. Some may even ask themselves how did I get here, or where do I go from here?
Then you remember that you survived a worldwide pandemic. If you remember that Overton and Sinclaire predates Monica and Chandler, then you survived Y2K. The end of the world in 2012 has been a thing of the past for 11 years. You survived. And with each new year, you start over with resolutions and plans for radical change.
You tell yourself, “I will do better,” “I will get fitter,” “I will make more money,” or “I will spend more time with my family.” And you can as those are real possibilities. The problem is it’s that same person in the mirror making those declarations. So let me offer a suggestion for your plans and promises for this new year.
As Jesus encouraged the people not to worry about what they will eat or wear, He pointed their attention towards Heaven. He said, ”Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need” (Matthew 6:33 NLT). This was a radical idea then, and it still is today. But isn’t that the idea for New Year’s resolutions: radical change?
But how can the author of those questionable choices and excuses make those radical changes? That person cannot. They’ve tried. They’ve failed. It will take a new person with a new perspective, and help from wise Decision Maker who makes no excuses. The Apostle Paul made some radical declarations. He said, ”Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had” (Philippians 2:3-5, NLT). Radical. Then he told the Corinthian believers, “We have stopped evaluating others from a human point of view. At one time we thought of Christ merely from a human point of view. How differently we know him now! This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!“ (2 Corinthians 5:16-17, NLT). Radical.
Radical is not impossible. It just requires radical help. You can do it. You CAN begin again. You CAN have sustained success this time. You just require help. So I invite you to make the best decision of your life. I invite you to connect or reconnect with the wise Decision Maker who makes no excuses. I invite you to try God. He says, ”“Come now, let’s settle this,” says the Lord. “Though your sins are like scarlet, I will make them as white as snow. Though they are red like crimson, I will make them as white as wool.“ (Isaiah 1:18, NLT).
God restores, and He brings love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. God can restore health. God can restore families. God can restore finances. There is nothing impossible for Him. You CAN begin again. I invite you to make the radical change of letting go and letting God lead.
”For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.“ ~ Philippians 4:13 NLT
Sam Paschal III