Christian Reflection and Prayer

How You Can Make a Fresh Start
Whitney Hopler

Do you feel stuck?  Maybe you don't
like the way your life has been going
lately, but can't seem to change it.
No matter how stuck you may have
become, you can move forward with
God's help.  Here's how you can make
a fresh start to change your life for the better:

#9. Overcome discouragement.  If you're
stuck in discouragement, don't despair because
God always offers you real hope.  Discouragement
can teach you about your unfulfilled expectations,
and it can also reveal areas of your life that
you need to change with God's help.  So pray
about the source of your discouragement and
shift your focus from yourself to God.  Ask
God to give you an eternal perspective on
your life so you can pay attention to what
matters most and let the rest go.  Schedule
leisure time into your schedule regularly so
you don't get burned out, which can lead to
discouragement.  Make a habit of consistently
encouraging the people around you.

#10. Find true friendships.  Loneliness
can make you feel stuck without hope
of finding others who will truly care about
you and share life's joys and sorrows with
you.  But God will give you the courage
you need to reach out to people and form
true friendships.  Realize that you and a
few close friends can be better together
than you can be apart, because you can
grow through your friendships into the
people God wants you all to become. 
Ask God to give you abundant opportunities
to connect with people and cultivate close
friendships with them.

{Adapted from Fresh Start: God's Invitation to
a Great Life copyright 2009 by Doug Fields.
Published by Thomas Nelson Publishers,
Nashville, Tn., www.thomasnelson.com.)

Article publication date: August 20, 2009

How You Can Make a Fresh Start
Whitney Hopler

Do you feel stuck?  Maybe you don't
like the way your life has been going
lately, but can't seem to change it.
No matter how stuck you may have
become, you can move forward with
God's help.  Here's how you can make
a fresh start to change your life for the better:

#7. Find freedom from hurt.  If you don't
forgive the people who hurt you, their offenses
will come back to haunt you over and over
again and you'll be stuck in bitterness.  But
if you obey God's call to forgive others since
He has forgiven you, you can break free of
bitterness and move on well with your life. 
So write down what you think the person
who hurt you owes you (an apology, an
explanation, a marriage that was destroyed,
money that was stolen, a life that was taken, etc.). 
Then cancel the debt, writing "Paid in full"
across your list.  Canceling the debt means
that you decide not to: hold the action against
the offending person, raise it back up with the
person, or use it against the person anymore.
Choose to follow God's command to
forgive despite your feelings.  If you make
a faithful decision, God will gradually change
your feelings. You'll find that after you make
the decision to forgive, God will start the
healing process until you finally come to
the point where you can remember the
hurtful situation or encounter the person
who hurt you without having the poison
of bitterness rise up within your soul.

#8. Use conflicts to discover adventure.
If you've been struggling with a conflict
that has left you stuck in stress without
a resolution, realize that God can use that
conflict to transform you in ways that will
lead to great adventures in your life.  Conflict
can be a powerful catalyst for God to reveal
more about Himself to you and cause new
growth to happen in your life.  Choose to do
what's right - not what's easy - when dealing
with conflict.  Seek peace by confronting the
people with whom you're in conflict, apologizing
for your part in the conflict, and forgiving those
who have hurt or offended you through the
conflict.  As you make every effort to live resolve
conflicts so you can live in peace, you'll grow into
a stronger person and bring glory to God in the
adventurous process.

{Adapted from Fresh Start: God's Invitation to
a Great Life copyright 2009 by Doug Fields.
Published by Thomas Nelson Publishers,
Nashville, Tn., www.thomasnelson.com.
Article publication date: August 20, 2009

How You Can Make a Fresh Start
Whitney Hopler

(The next Reflections will be a series
of 14 brief messages on how you can make a
Fresh Start in your life. It is my prayer
that these suggestions will help provide
a real renewal in your total life.)

Do you feel stuck?  Maybe you don't
like the way your life has been going
lately, but can't seem to change it.
No matter how stuck you may have
become, you can move forward with
God's help.  Here's how you can make
a fresh start to change your life for the better:

#6.  Move on from guilt.  If guilt over
wrong decisions you made in the past
is keeping you stuck, you can move on
with God's help.  Confess your sins,
mistakes, and failures to God, repent of
your sins, and accept the forgiveness that
He offers you.  Read and reflect on Bible
verses about forgiveness.  Pray for God
to give you peace about your past.  Talk
about your past and God's forgiveness
with some caring Christian friends who
will support you as you leave guilt behind.
Remember that there's absolutely nothing
you've done in the past that God can redeem. 
Move forward in the confidence that God has
not only forgiven you, but that He also wants
to use you to do significant work in His kingdom. 
Once you're free from guilt, you're free to say
"yes" to God when He presents opportunities
for you to serve Him.

{Adapted from Fresh Start: God's Invitation to
a Great Life copyright 2009 by Doug Fields.
Published by Thomas Nelson Publishers,
Nashville, Tn., www.thomasnelson.com.
Article publication date: August 20, 2009)