reNEWed: Daily Practices for a Fresh Life

There are times in our lives when it becomes pretty apparent that God is interested in doing a new thing within us. It can coincide with the changing of the year, the changing of the seasons, the changing of life circumstances, or the changing of a physical location. One thing is for sure, God is always interested in moving each of us into a deeper and more meaningful relationship with Him. And from time to time, when we find ourselves in those dull, dried moments of life where we feel like we are just going through the motions or even maybe stuck, it may be time for a renewal. And not just any renewal, but a renewal with God.

Whether you have been a Christian your whole life, just became a Christian or maybe you haven’t given God the time of day yet, wherever you are on your faith journey (because we are all on one) often God is up to something new.

Now I know new can be scary and sometimes hard to get it going. It can even be confusing. But I’m not going to just throw things at you and hope they stick. I’m in this boat with you. I’m ready to be renewed myself. And if we can recognize these times when God wants to renew us (and recognize that we need it), we can lean in, trust, and allow Him to do some amazing things.

In my experience, God’s renewal is as much for our physical being as it is for our inner being. Now maybe you are in this boat with me too: I would like to get in shape physically. Sure, I’m like most people and would like to lose a little weight, but more so I would like to just get more active. I sit way too much in my job whether at my desk planning and writing, or visiting people, or in bible studies. I sit so much that I’m tired, and I hurt. And I’m tired of being tired. I need to move.

And this is a great time of year since we are in a new year to make a new commitment to do something new. I’m not all about resolutions, because let’s be real, only 8% of people stick with them, but after the year we just had, just maybe we’ll be more inclined to put more effort into change and new habits like: working out, eating better, keeping ourselves healthy.

But overall, we are all more than just physical beings. There is a depth to us that is our soul and spirit, and often times God desires for our spirit to experience renewal as well. Life can be hard and the trials that we face can cause our spirits to become weary. Relational conflict can cause deep sorrow. Financial woes can be stressful. Disappointments can be so discouraging. All of these and more have a way of affecting our spiritual state.

So for the next four weeks we’re going to talk about how we can open ourselves up to the work of God and renew our spirits, renew our purpose, renew our love for God, and even the community we surround ourselves with.