If you have tendencies to give up when things aren't perfect, or think you have to start from scratch, God has the best idea. This idea is found in the word 'return'.
Everyday we can confess our sins and failures and start over. It doesn't mean we have to go back to the beginning, but through God's saving grace and Christ's work on the cross, we are made brand new.
God doesn't waste any of our mistakes. We can learn from them and keep moving forward. We can return to God, His ways, any time of day or night with a prayer of repentance and trust.
There will be seasons where you might feel like you've been in a fog, you got distracted, took a wrong turn, and there are always explanations for that. Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal them to you so you can avoid similar pitfalls in the future. God is merciful, and the Bible is full of true stories of people like you and like me, who had to continually repent and return to Him.
I wanted to share a song I penned recently, with you. It is all about returning to God, realizing He is the Creator of everything and He keeps His promises to His people. It talks about noticing things we stopped seeing, for example His magnificent creation. Every circumstance in our life may not be perfect, but looking at creation around us helps to centre us in Him again.
The second verse is all about seeing past ourselves, and focusing on God. He can be trusted. Surrender to Him once again.
I love the chorus because it returns to Creation and Adam and Eve turning their backs on God, and how He actually throws them out of the garden, but through Christ's work of reconciliation we can return to that garden with just a prayer. It mentions returning across the desert, which brings Moses and his people to mind as they wandered for 40 years. There were a lot of wrong turns, but they returned to God and conquered the Promised Land. And how about returning to God from man made rules and additions to God's directives? Return to His truth, search His Word for the answers. Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal truth.
"I'm Gonna Return to You"
(You keep Your promises)
This is the year I'll notice the moon
This is the year I will say to you
I'm gonna be more than alright
You keep your promises
This is the year I'm gonna see
Way past my nose and be free
to trust you again, with everything
You keep your promises
I'm gonna return to you
to the garden
I'm gonna return to you
across the desert
I'm gonna return to you
from religion
I'm gonna return to you
for forever
This is the year I'm letting go
of everything me, to hold
You in my heart, Saviour and friend
You keep your promises
©Cindy Palin, Words and Music, 2023 All Rights Reserved
Picture is from #unsplash, Jehyun Sung