She BelongsSample

Ready for a New Start

So far in our devotions, we’ve learned that belonging begins with brokenness, belonging brings oneness, belonging bestows the bond of peace, and belonging generates spiritual growth. Today we’ll find out the key to building a life of belonging in the body of Christ.

Let me ask you: in the past few days, what has God revealed to you that is broken and in need of restoration in your life? Is there something you need to tear down in order to let God’s blessing of belonging begin in your life?

Maybe today you’re facing a broken relationship or a sin pattern you can’t seem to break. I hope you’re ready to get to work restoring what’s been lost. While you may be willing to jump right into the work, our starting line for every beginning is Jesus. Belonging never begins with what we can do for God; it always begins with what He’s already done for us.

Five centuries before Christ, a group of Israelites returned to their homeland after a lengthy foreign exile. Upon their arrival, they found a land still in piles of rubble and ruin. They faced a long, hard road to recovery.

We might assume the Israelites got to the work of rebuilding the city immediately, but they didn’t. Before the children of Israel did anything else, they built an altar and offered burnt offerings on it to the Lord (Ezra 3:1-3). The altar signaled not only the nation’s return to their homeland but also a return to their Lord.

Our road to belonging is no different. In order to rebuild and see the work to completion, we must come first and frequently to the altar, the head of the body, Jesus Christ (see Hebrews 13:10). He is the source of our personal forgiveness, and it is only in the steadfast love of God through Christ that we find victory.

Remember, finding your place in the body of Christ isn’t meant to be a burden. Instead, it’s what you’ve been created for—and called to—in Christ.

You belong.

Are you ready for a new start? Pray, “Dear God, as I survey the rubble in my life, I come to the altar of Christ and offer up a sacrifice of praise to You.”

This plan is presented to you by She Belongs by Katy McCown, an Esther Press resource. To learn more about this book, please click here.