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Like this world, we have a beginning. At some point in our existence our hearts had their first beat. Thereafter we continued to experience all the firsts of life, the beautiful and the hard.

We live and we learn. At times it feels like we have things figured out, although that usually doesn’t last long. So what do we do when we realize we’re wrong? Or what if we fall from a place of thriving to a place of failure? Can we return to glory? 

I know firsthand how suffocating the dooming feelings of regret can be. Not that those beliefs feel better than hope, they just seem more realistic. No matter how hard one may want to believe things can be redeemed, or may even become better, it can be hard to believe when you look around. When you live the realities, or consequences, of your sin day in and day out. 

I’m going to assume you know that we have a redeemer.  The perfect man, sacrificial lamb, the one who willingly paid all of our debts. The One through whom we’re redeemed to the Father. So of course, he’s capable to redeem any and everything in our lives. Do we truly believe this though? Does it determine how we think and live?

I’ve made countless mistakes. I never imagined I’d create such a mess of my life. I willingly allowed the enemy to rob me of so many things. Shame, disbelief, embarrassment, and sorrow (just to name a few) were the feelings I lived with each day. They clouded and preoccupied my mind, even when I tried blocking them out. I know what it’s like to not see a way out.

But, it’s true. There is a very good man who once said we only need faith the size of the mustard seed. And that with Him, all things are possible. 

As silly and obvious as it may sound, God’s shown me the power of baby steps. That the little acts of faith, work, and obedience hold so much value and yield much more of a harvest than we realize. One act leads to the next, and so on and so forth. As you continue to sow, you’ll begin to reap. But this time you’ll get the good fruit. Again, this isn’t new to most of us. But it can be easily forgotten. 

Here’s a practical example. In the past when I tried dieting, I would consider my entire day ruined if I got off track by overeating or eating something I shouldn’t have. So much so that I would decide that I must start fresh the next day as I’ve already ruined today and can’t get it back. I wonder how much that mindset delayed, or maybe even blocked, some of my progress. Instead of starting new the moment I realized I messed up, I postponed change for the next day. Foolish, I know. This way of thinking impacted more areas in my life than just dieting. If I felt God wasn’t pleased with me I’d carry the shame around until the next day when I could be better. And as the saying goes, “tomorrow never comes”

 I don’t know about you, but I certainly don’t remember Jesus saying redemption begins tomorrow. Or on Monday. Or next month. Or the first of the year. It’s already been won. We can start over now. The righteous man (and woman) falls 7 times but rises again. God’s word is full of stories of brothers and sisters before us that had their fair share of mishaps. But with God, they rose again. 

So here’s to starting over. May we take the lessons learned from what we need to leave behind and move forward. Striving towards the ultimate goal, to the one who is love, and is the only reason we can begin again. 

Micah 7:19, Psalm 103:12, Isaiah 42:25, Isaiah 1:18