Month: January 2024

Renewal is hard

I am sitting here listening to an instrumental version of the beautiful song “Breath of Heaven.” It is lovely to hear but it got thinking… this is sometimes how I see renewal. I ask God to renew my spirit and I sit and wait for the Holy spirit to pour over me and renew me. Maybe this happens to some people. Not me.

As anyone who has lived through a renovation can tell you it is a messy business. Everything is dusty, ripped apart and nothing works. On top of that the rebuild can seem to be endless. When you are living without a sink the wait for cabinets, carpenters, counters, plumbers, tile setters etc., can seem endless. And the outcome only seems to be increased visits to the chiropractor, to deal with the strain caused by doing dishes in the bathtub.

It is hard. Waiting and wading through mess. This is what renewal is like. The hard work of dealing with our old toxic habits or beliefs while allowing God to slowly rebuild our inner framework.

Maybe the breath of God blew over you and in a moment you gave your life to him, but you still have a lot of work to do, albeit now with the help of God.

If we ask God to renew us we need to be prepared for some difficulties. But it is worth it. Any suffering, hardship, rethinking or change of life if worth it if it brings us closer to God.

James 4: 7 – 10 Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 
Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.

Before renewal

Before we can undergo a renewal, a few things have to happen. If you want to improve an old home you can add new flooring and give it a fresh coat of paint. But have you actually improved the building or have you just “put lipstick on a pig,” as the saying goes.

If you want to improve an old house you have to inspect it and find the flaws. Maybe there is a lack of insulation (our old home would have been warmer through this cold snap if we had better insulation. Maybe it’s a crack in the foundation. The builder must inspect and find the defects. These problems should be fixed. Then, when the new paint goes on it represents the improved state of the home.

In the Old Testament, Malachi refers to the ‘refiner’s fire’ in this way; “He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; he will purify the Levites and refine them like gold and silver.” (Malachi 3:3) The idea of burning off the impurities and extracting the best parts of the metal.

Hard times suck. Plain and simple. But we need to have difficulties and trials, we need to have our sins and defects burned off and allow the glory of Jesus to emerge. It’s like the old hymn that starts, “All of self and none of thee.” And through the verses it progresses to the final verse saying, “None of self and all of thee.”

The aim of renewal isn’t to emerge from the ashes as a better and stronger version of ourselves. But rather to emerge from our struggles and trials as a stronger reflection of Jesus. His glory is the aim not our own. The old saying “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger,” should actually be “What doesn’t kill you makes Jesus more visible in your life.” It is not as catchy for sure, but to me that is the ideal.

I do fall short! I know. But this is the aim.

Ephesians 4: 22 – 24 You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds;
and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.

Renewal

We had our first bible study of the year the other night. I was not prepared to continue with the material we have been studying. Just a bit slow getting back into the swing of things, I guess.

Instead, I asked the group to reflect on the idea of renewal.

Many people look at the start of the new year as a blank slate. A time to make resolutions and redouble their self-improvement efforts.

Resolutions are different than renewal. Resolutions are based on our own efforts to change. We ‘resolve’ to create a new habit or quit an old one. Renewal is less about what we can do. We can’t create ourselves over. We can’t cleanse our lives of all our iniquities. We have to lean on God for renewal.

Psalm 51: 10 – 12 Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.