A Brand New Start
By First Lady Vivian Pruitte
For the month of July I am going to deviate a bit from my book, movie, and article reviews and focus our theme for this year: “A Brand New Start.”
Let’s say you messed up really bad. You feel there is no way you can undo what you have done. No one is going to look at you the same way again. How could you ever restore that faith and trust people once had in you? Not only did you let yourself down, but you let so many others down. You tried to cover up the feelings of guilt and shame, but every time you think about it, it unearths the same flood of emotions.
Then, along comes Jesus and He says He can erase that mistake and actually produce something good out of it. He says you can have a brand new start. Are you willing to try again?
In life we are not always afforded the opportunity to start over. But one of the things I love about the Lord is that He gives us a chance for a new start every day. The scriptures say that He extends His mercies towards us – He affords us the opportunity to make it right and start over again.
In this life we are bound to make mistakes in our Christian journey. Many times, our situations have us trapped and they seem to be a constant source of discouragement. We start off this race running well, then we look back and it seems our problems are gaining on us. Sometimes they are coming at us so fast that it seems as if they will overtake us. During these times, we must remember that Jesus did not leave us to run this race alone, but is with us all the way. He is there alongside to encourage us, He is in the stands cheering us on, and He is at the finish line waiting for us and ready to embrace us and say “well done.”
When you’re given a second chance, you gain a newfound confidence. You say to yourself, “last time I really messed it up, but this time I’m going to give it my best shot.” This is what the Lord does for us when He gives us a new start. We get the chance to give the Lord the best out of our lives. This is how we express our gratitude to Him for giving us another chance.
Think about it, when you wake up in the morning, you get a brand new start. Are you going to allow your circumstances to overtake you or are you going to allow the Lord to get the best out of your life? Make full use of this new opportunity and give the Lord another chance to produce something wonderful with your life.