It’s Time to ReBoot for the New Year

MEH or MERRY?

Were your holidays more meh than merry?  My daughter and son in law were sick Christmas Eve so our family get together was smaller than planned.  My husband and I both got Covid for Christmas so we cancelled our New Year’s open house.  Several friends were experiencing severe illness or the loss of a loved one.  All the hype and planning leading up to the holiday season left me feeling let down because my  expectations were not met.  And now armed with new calendars, planners and resolutions we all feebly try to forge ahead but the problems from just a couple weeks ago are still here.

I am not a computer savy person at all and often need assistance.  I looked up some basic technical terms and found the comparison to our mental and spiritual health interesting.

A computer reset is different from a reboot or restart. Whereas a computer reboot and restart power down the operating system and restart it, a computer reset is when you take the machine back to its original state with the reinstallation of the operating system. Resetting is like erasing.  A restart can potentially avoid all of this when done on a consistent schedule. Even if you just received a new computer restarting should be performed at least once a week. While performing this needed maintenance takes time the benefits improves the systems availability and up time. (info from google)

 

A RESET EQUALS a CLEAN SYSTEM

As a Christian I believe a total “reset” needs to happen only once.  When we understand God’s love and sacrifice for our sin and ask forgiveness he will completely wipe our record clean and make us a new person inside. We will have a different outlook on life and when making plans.

Psalm 51:7 (ESV)  Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

1 John 1:9  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

2 Corinthians 5:17   Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

 

However, we are still here on planet earth and the daily grind can wear us down. Fragments from unresolved circumstances, lingering illness, loss and future worries cloud our thinking and slow down our processing and performance.  But knowing God has a plan and a purpose for our lives gives us hope. The Bible gives us clear instructions for “rebooting” our attitudes, emotions and our perspective.

TIME FOR A RESTART

A “reboot” or restart can happen every morning or every time we gather for fellowship and worship.  Maybe we should take the time to shut down all the “applications” around us and start with a fresh page on a regular schedule.  This “maintainence” starts with silence (away from all distractions), prayer and scripture. Ask God to show you what needs to be deleted from your heart, pour out your concerns and ask for direction and peace.

Psalm 51:10   Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.

Psalm 139:23–24 
Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!

Romans 12:2  Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

 

My word for the new year is LOOK.  I need to spend time looking within to express my cares, fears, thoughts to Him and adjust my attitude and perspective to align with His.  I will look above and around – to appreciate His handiwork and see where God is at work. I will look for new opportunities. One goal I have is to use my planner more purposefully and leave space for a regular refresh.

Jeremiah 6:16  Thus says the LORD: “Stand by the roads, and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is; and walk in it, and find rest for your souls.

 

Dear Friend,   maybe you too need to hit the “restart button” to refresh and renew your inner spirit and mind before pushing forward into this new year.  May God bless you as you restart!