NIV Spiritual Renewal Study Bible PlanSample

Faith to Build a New Life

Our past sometimes gets in the way of our vision for the future. If we let ourselves dwell on the areas in which we have failed or on the losses and disappointments that have hurt us, we may find it difficult to look forward to the future God has for us.

King David dreamed of building a magnificent temple. In commissioning his son Solomon to do the work, he said, “Be strong and courageous, and do the work. Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you or forsake you” (1 Chronicles 28:20). Many years later the apostle Paul said, “You are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people . . . built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord” (Ephesians 2:19 – 21).

Just as David dreamed of building a magnificent temple, we can dare to dream of building a magnificent new life. God has the blueprint already drawn up; all we have to do is follow it by faith. We may be afraid that we will start and fail, but we only need to “be strong and courageous, and do the work.” We don’t need to be frightened by the size of the task, for “he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus” (Philippians 1:6).