A Fresh Start

I was reading in Psalm 51 where he wrote about being confronted by the prophet Nathan. David had an adulterous affair, got the woman pregnant, had her husband killed and married her to cover it up. The prophet came and let him know that God saw everything. David broke down and repented. He wrote this Psalm to describe his need for forgiveness from God and what he needed to start over. God forgave him and David continued to be a man after God’s own heart.

I’ve always been attracted to verse 10 in that particular Psalm. It reads, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.” That has been a prayer of mine for as long as I can remember. I want to always have a clean heart before God. I want to have a heart that is sensitive to His Spirit and isn’t too prideful to ask for forgiveness when I fail. David’s prayer here is proof that no matter how badly I mess up, God can forgive me and create a new heart in me.

As I read this chapter again, I started reading it in other versions to see how that verse translated. The Message caught my eye. It says it like this, “God, make a fresh start in me, shape a Genesis week from the chaos in my life.” I have read that over and over because it’s just that good. We all need a fresh start every now and then. We need God to pull us from the mundane and to give us a new look at life. After we’ve sinned, we sometimes have to start over. Even in dealing with the consequences of our sins, God can still give us a fresh start.

The next part of that verse also speaks to me. “Shape a Genesis week from the chaos in my life.” I went back to Genesis 1 and read about that week. The first thing God created was light. When we have sinned or are living in sin, there is no light in our life. We have a dark cloud hanging over us. God will come in and bring light back into our lives and then cause things to grow again. God can take the chaos that dominates your life today and create order, life and peace. All He has to do is speak into it.

If you’re living in that chaos today, invite God to speak into your life and to shape a Genesis week for you. If you have sin in your life you haven’t repented of because you think God won’t forgive you, ask Him to create a new heart in you and to give you a fresh start. God loves new beginnings and He loves to create things. He delights in you and wants to bring light back into your life today. The only thing holding Him back is you. Pray today that God would allow you to start fresh with Him. He will do it. I promise.