Renewal

Renewal

My Question for God

My life is a mess, and I feel as if I need to start over again. How can I experience renewal?

A Moment with God

Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a loyal spirit within me.

Psalm 51:10

“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

I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart.

Ezekiel 36:26

Throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy.

Ephesians 4:21-24

How often we disappoint ourselves. We have such high hopes and good intentions but inevitably, we find ourselves weary and burnt out with self-defeat, the burdens of everyday living, or the consequences of bad choices and sinful actions. The messiness of life can leave us feeling exhausted not only physically but in our very souls as well. If only we could start over.

Renewal begins with the compassion of God and a heart ready for change. When the two are put together, you find a new beginning, a soul refreshed, and a life revived. God makes it clear he will restore any heart that seeks a new start. That new start begins with a sincere desire to turn to God and turn away from what has been bringing you down. To begin, ask God to forgive your sin, which poisons everything you do. Thank God that his forgiveness is not based on the magnitude of your sin but on the magnitude of his love. Only one sin is too great for God’s unconditional love and forgiveness: an attitude of defiant, hostile rejection of God, which prevents you from accepting his forgiveness. Those who don’t want his forgiveness are beyond its reach. But a heart that truly wants to change is a heart that is ready for the renewal that only God’s Spirit can bring.

Divine Promise

Anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!

2 Corinthians 5:17