In Christ, each day presents the opportunity to reset and try again

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

2 Corinthians 5:17

It’s the middle of a long and challenging week and Rob is feeling maxed out. It seems he’s got more on his plate than he can manage and it’s starting to get to him. He is grateful for his job, but most of the time he feels like he’s not doing a good enough job. He works hard but wonders if he’s just spinning his wheels.

Added to this are the complexities of Rob’s home life. He is crazy about his wife and kids, but these days it seems like there’s always a challenge hovering over his family, something to keep him on his knees…health concerns, children going through different stages, the challenges of doing business with people out in the marketplace, not to mention the increased concern for his and his wife’s aging parents.

Most days Rob keeps it all in perspective, but today it feels like it’s getting away from him, like it’s just too much.

Today Rob needs what we’ll call the Etch a Sketch option. He needs to be reminded of the opportunity that God’s grace affords him to shake and erase.

If you’ve never held one of these little red boxes in your hands, let me explain. The Etch a Sketch is a simple drawing toy that illustrates an important life lesson about starting over again. With an Etch a Sketch, if you’re not pleased with what you’ve drawn, all you have to do is shake the device a few times and wallah, you have a clear screen.

In 2 Corinthians, Paul describes how something similar can happen on a spiritual level. There, Paul explains how he dealt with pressures from all sides as a Christ-follower in a broken and sometimes downright mean world.

He says the reason he never gave up was because no matter how difficult things got, in Christ, every day he could be inwardly renewed. Physically, he may have felt absolutely wiped out, but inwardly, he could be rejuvenated day after day:

So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day.

2 Corinthians 4:16

In other words, there was always the Etch a Sketch option.

No matter how beaten down he might have been the previous day, in his heart and mind Paul celebrated the opportunity to shake, erase and start again. Not that his circumstances would necessarily change, but his view of them would. With the combined influences of the Spirit of God and the Word of God to renew him inwardly, every day was like January 1.

Sounds good, doesn’t it? Well, it’s still available. With yesterday behind, God’s grace gives us the opportunity today to shake, erase, and start again. Here’s to a clear screen!

It’s a new day with God. Run with it.