The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases,
His mercies never come to an end;
They are new every morning;
Great is your faithfulness.
“The Lord is my portion,” says my soul,
Therefore I will hope in Him.”
Lamentations 3:22-24
Starting over seems to be an undeniable theme for the first week of unhindered. Truth be told, it’s an important theme for our lives as Christians. These verses remind us that every morning we wake up to live another day on this earth, His steadfast love and unending mercies are there to meet us anew.
When we surrender our lives and place our faith in Jesus Christ, we walk away a new creation in Christ. We get to start over in the newness of a life lived in Him. The moment Jesus’ sacrifice became real and personal in my own life is forever etched in my memory.
Marty and I were married and had our first child before God really got ahold of my heart. I remember sitting in the balcony of that small country church by myself that Palm Sunday, listening to our pastor preach a sermon on Colossians 2:13-14, "When you were dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having cancelled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross.”
My eyes were opened and I understood for the first time the magnitude of what Christ had done for ME - that He had taken all my sin AND all the guilt and shame I was carrying because of my sin, to the cross with Him. I realized for the first time that I didn’t have to carry the weight of those burdens anymore, that Jesus died to set me free from all of it! I nailed every bit of it to the cross that day and those chains were broken. I surrendered my past, present and future to Him and walked away a new creation in Jesus Christ. He gave me a new heart and a new home that day. I got to start over.
I want to be clear, I am the person I am today because of my past experiences and choices, but my past no longer defines me. I love the words of Paul in 1 Corinthians 15:10, “But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain.” Paul never pretended that his past wasn’t a part of who he was, he simply owned his new life in Christ in an undeniable way. He was a sinner saved by grace to do great things for the kingdom of God, determined that the grace Jesus had poured out all over his life would not be in vain. He got to start over.
God seems to be impressing on me, during this start up of unhindered, the importance of continually surrendering everything that hinders what He desires to do in and through me. I must continually lay it all at His feet - my time, talents, knowledge, expectations, burdens and even frustrations when things seem to go awry as they did yesterday with my original post. I must lay it all down and trust Him, acknowledging my need of His unending mercy and grace in my life every single moment of every single day. I don't know about you, but I NEED to start over in the newness of His mercies each morning in order to live fully for Him - surrendered and unhindered by the things of this world.
There is no doubt that life in this fallen world can make us weary and we can certainly make a mess of things when we choose to walk in our flesh. At least I know I can! I hope it refreshes your soul as much as it does mine to be reminded that His steadfast love and unending mercies are new to us each and every morning. Praise God, we get to start over in the newness of His mercies today!
Lord, thank you for your steadfast love and your unending mercy! You are so very faithful to me! Help me during the hours of this day to live more fully for you with the knowledge that you are all I need. Thank you for allowing me to start over in the newness of your mercies and grace today. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
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