Reset, Recalibrate, Renew
For many of us, periodic resets are essential. If we are to be all that we could be and live the life we are called to live it will involve gracious resets, recalibrations, and renewals from the Lord along the way. Without those, we can get into autopilot mode rather than living with hope-filled, Christ-following, Spirit-saturated vitality. (Or is it just me??) But with those, while we acknowledge our limits and continuing need for grace and growth, we have the opportunity to walk with God anew and afresh every morning, afternoon, and evening!
I'm a Fitbit wearer, at least I have been for the last few years. This week, it's in the process of dying on me. The battery runs through a full charge in a couple of hours as opposed to several days. The top two recommendations are to reset the device and update the app - just maybe doing those two things will solve your Fitbit problems! You've gotta reset, recalibrate and renew if you want to keep Fitbit-ing.
Gardening and cultivating a great or improving yard are like that too. Different things need different attention at different times through the year. If you want a greened-up yard with pretty plants and flowers doing their thing this time of year, you've gotta maintain and give attention to when it's time to change this, start that, add fertilizer over here, and get rid of that dying plant over there.
Point being - in lots of areas, the good we're after doesn't just happen, isn't maintenance-free, isn't "set it and forget it." We are like that too, all of us, and there’s grace in that for us! I think God made us needing regular onramps to enter or reenter the “faithful and focused” highway. And that means we’ve gotta reset, recalibrate, and renew from time to time.
And so:
- God gave us the Sabbath every week and a chance to sleep every night.
- He's given us simple rhythms of personal devotion and spiritual engagement to feed our souls.
- He's given us corporate worship every Sunday morning and for many of us, a small group gathering during the week.
- All of the above are for our encouragement, nurture, and sometimes renewal.
The truth is, you can reassess anything in your life and seek a reset, recalibration, and renewal with God’s help. You can change actions, inputs, and "ingredients" that can impact your outcomes or results. Maybe God has something for you in this area today like He did for me. For the purpose of faithfulness and focus, is there a reset, recalibration, or renewal that God is bringing to mind?
And if so, what do you think you should do with that, with God’s help?