Can I Really Start Over?Sample

Have you ever wanted to be excited but couldn't muster enthusiasm?

That's exactly how I felt when I thought about returning to my job as a pastor at the end of my sabbatical. I didn't want to leave my profession, but I wasn't as excited as I expected to be.

It wasn't until I started looking ahead, making plans, setting goals, and asking what God might want to do through me next that my excitement grew into a fire in my heart. A few days before returning to work, I texted a friend, "I'm pumped!" to go back (which was quite a change from the headspace I was in just a few days earlier.)

The final obstacle I've found many people face is a need for more excitement about the future. "Why start over when I don't know what I'm moving towards in the future?" You may ask yourself that question, needing clarification and encouragement about the future. While my experience of starting over included things like making plans, setting goals, and dreaming of possibilities, the most important thing for you and me is first to recognize God's promises to us about our future.

Consider these three truths from the New Testament.

First, Jesus boldly stated about our lives as His followers in John 14-16. In John 14:12-14, Jesus said, "Whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these." Jesus promised the Holy Spirit would come to His followers, empowering them with a capability that exceeded their expectations. As a follower of Jesus, you can do more than you imagine because of the Holy Spirit.

Second, the Apostle Paul describes believers with language that explodes insecurity and cements value when he says, "We are God's masterpiece." The Greek word translated as "masterpiece" in Ephesians 2:10 is poema, which means the crowning achievement of an artist. You are God's most outstanding work, and Paul says later in the same verse that God planned good works for you to do long ago. Your life is not an accident, and your future is not meaningless.

Third, later in Ephesians, Paul talks about God's love being beyond our knowledge. Not only is His love beyond our understanding, but His capacity is beyond our comprehension. In Ephesians 3:20, Paul writes that God "is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine." If God loved you more than you comprehend and could do more than you can imagine, wouldn't there be a reason for excitement to move forward into the future?

Starting over is never easy. It doesn't get easier the older you get. It often gets harder - much harder. But, as a man named Benedict once wrote, "always we begin again." God's grace offers us a continual opportunity to overcome our failures and fears. What lies ahead may feel daunting, but the good news is that we don't have to face it alone. We can step into our future with the One who describes it with words that fill our hearts with hope.

I'm excited for the opportunity that is in front of you. And I hope you're more excited than you were just a few days ago!

It's been an honor to encourage you over the last few days. Click here for complimentary access to one of the most encouraging resources I've ever created, entitled Don't Give Up When It's Time to Change: 10 Things You Need to Hear When You're Ready to Quit.