When you need a fresh start, God is the Creator, making all things new.
What was she thinking?
When I heard about her outrageous social media post, my first thought was, “How could anyone be so foolish? How could she be so mean-spirited? Didn’t she consider the consequences?” What was she thinking?
Clearly, she wasn’t thinking.
My second thought was, “I’ll bet she wishes she could go back in time and un-type those devastating words.”
I know that feeling all too well...regret.
So often, I wish I could have a do-over.
I want to reel in those unkind words I so carelessly tossed out.
My heart begs for a chance to reclaim the patience I lost and reverse the damage I caused.
Some days I feel like such a failure. Why can’t I just rewind the clock and start the day over?
Here’s some good news: God, the Creator is also the Re-creator.
Genesis 1:1 says, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”
God created a universe filled with countless stars….billions of trillions. Psalm 147:4 says he knows them all by name. And, while the universe is mind-boggling, it’s equally amazing to think of the wonders he works in human hearts. He knows each of us by name. We are his workmanship, his poema.
Yet, often I don’t feel quite like a masterpiece. God had good intentions for me, but because of my faults and failures, that lovely design is faded and flawed. I may be God’s Mona Lisa, but I desperately need restoration.
And God offers restoration through Jesus.
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. II Corinthians 5:17 (ESV)
When we put our faith in Christ, we receive a new identity, but we don’t always live like a new creation. Neither did some of the heroes of the Bible, like David, “the man after God’s own heart.” When we fail, we can follow David’s example; we can turn to God and cry out,
Create in me a clean heart, O God,
and renew a right spirit within me. Psalm 51:10
God is still in the business of creating. He’s creating clean hearts in those who mess up.
Still, God doesn’t promise to spare us from the consequences of our foolish actions. Like the ugly social media post, and like King David’s sin, offenses can be hurtful, harmful, horrendous. Though we may need to suffer the gut-wrenching fallout, we needn’t despair, because nothing, not even our failures, can separate us from God’s love.
The Bible shows us no life is too broken for God to repair, and no soul is too lost for God to redeem. No one is too damaged for God to restore.
I wish God would just fix me once and for all and make me perfect. But renewal takes time. Daily I’ve got to remember that I’m done with the old selfish, greedy, prideful self … and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. Colossians 3:10 (ESV)
And each day gives us a new opportunity to start fresh. So when we look in the mirror, we’ll see someone who looks less like a failure and a lot more like Jesus.
Father, help me stop berating myself for my failures and accept your forgiveness. Create in me a clean heart. Give me the courage to put the past behind me and start again. Thank you for giving me a do-over.
If guilt and regret still haunt you, even after you’ve asked for forgiveness, read David’s story. Shift your focus to God, whose love is everlasting and whose mercies are new every morning.
When you need a fresh start, God is the creator.
