A Fresh Start: Need a Fresh Start?
Monday, March 9, 2020
Living Free Every Day®
A ministry of LivingFree.org
Today's Scripture
“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland." Isaiah 43:18-19 NIV
Thoughts for Today
We all have setbacks and disappointments ... and may need a fresh start. For some a fresh start means building a new foundation and life in Christ because of a destructive and disruptive past. A fresh start may mean a husband who needs more empathy and understanding to be more in tune with his wife's past setbacks. Without his help, the wife's pain could eventually spill over into the entire family system.
Those of us who were wounded in our childhood drag into marriage the same sack of problems and pain we carried as single adults. We may have been able to hide the baggage long enough to distract our spouse from noticing its size or power, but soon our wounds surface in our new marriage. (Paul Hegstrom, Broken Children, Grown-Up Pain, 87-88)
Whether we need to start over or just make an adjustment, the Lord wants to provide us with a fresh startno matter what the setback or disappointment or how long we have suffered from the pain.
Consider this …
Do you need to make a fresh start? Your need may have been caused by something that happened years ago or just recently. It may involve a relationship, a lifestyle, a habit, a failure, abuse by someone ... or any of a multitude of issues. Whatever the problem—and whether it began recently or years ago—Jesus wants to help you.
We must remember that making a fresh start is a process. A fresh start always involves trusting Jesus and walking with him. "Jesus told him, 'I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.'" John 14:6 NLT
Only through him can we find the strength and guidance to walk the process. With him, we can do all things. The apostle Paul said it this way: "For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.”
Philippians 4:13 NLT
The process of making a fresh start can be a bumpy road. But with Jesus, you can do it.
Prayer
Lord, I really do need a fresh start. I know I need to put the past behind and move on, but I can't do that alone. I need your guidance and help. I do believe you are the only way, truth, and life. In Jesus' name …
These thoughts were drawn from … Free to Grow: Overcoming Setbacks and Disappointments by Jimmy Ray Lee, D.Min. The purpose of this group study is to help people overcome disappointments and setbacks that have arrested or are presently hindering their emotional and spiritual development. The group study will help participants understand how to be set free so that they can grow and become all that God has designed them to be. Note: This curriculum was written especially for small groups and we encourage people to use it that way. However, it can also be used effectively as a personal study for individuals or couples.
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