Romans 6:4b NLT

'And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives.'

I had a significant moment in church this Easter. I attended a baptismal service and witnessed each candidate testify to their free choice for God and rise from the water a new person. Sin cleansed, a new opportunity for a fresh start stood before them. I noticed something else. Something very personal deep within myself, something I have thought about a lot.

A desire for change is something I experience physically and emotionally to the extent that it influences my self-perception and behaviours. It made me restless, never satisfied, always looking for a different way. It unsettled me, meaning I was never settled. I pursued change for its own sake, regardless of whether change was appropriate or not. I found it impossible to settle into any given situation, and so was forever critiquing and appeared negative to those seeking a period of consolidation.

Now here I was, captivated within a beautiful celebratory service and I felt a peace running throughout my whole being. I had never experienced this before. There wasn’t an ounce of tension anywhere within my whole body. I felt full and complete. I was at peace with God, myself, everyone else around me, and the environment I found myself in. This was without a doubt truly God’s shalom he promised his disciples.

I felt brand new. Newness doesn’t simply mean a different way of life, God’s way and not the sinner’s way; it means the newness that I feel when emerging from a bath, having spent the day working flat-out in the garden. I emerge relaxed and say to Jayne, ‘I feel like a new person.’

QUESTION: Is your life feeling a little humdrum? Then consider how you might refresh your life with the newness that is your gift from God.

PRAYER: The old has gone, the new has come. Renew your creation in me today.