READ: ISAIAH 61:1-3; LAMENTATIONS 3:22-26; LUKE 4:14-21

Picture this. You’re standing barefoot on the shores of a beautiful ocean. As you walk along the water’s edge, breathing in the salty air and feeling the cool spray of the sea, you stop. You’ve seen something that catches your eye: a little orange starfish just offshore. You get closer, and your heart sinks when you see that two of its arms are broken off.

But then you notice…two of its feet are moving. It’s alive. And that means it will live, because starfish can regenerate, growing new arms to replace the old ones. That’s how God created them. He made it so that a wounded starfish can begin a new life.

Did you know that God also makes the way for us to begin again? When we go through times of transition in our lives, it can feel like part of us has been broken off, kind of like that starfish. Life changes can come in many forms, whether it be moving to a new place, changing schools or churches, losing a friendship, going through family upheaval like divorce, receiving a diagnosis that will change your life or the life of someone you care about, or experiencing the death of a loved one.

But even when we’re hurting, there is hope. God sees all our hurts, and He hasn’t left us alone in our pain. Because of His great love for us, Jesus died and rose again for us so that our lives can be regenerated. As Christians, we began a new life when we trusted Jesus as our Savior, and He promises to be with us in every new beginning. It can be scary to begin again, but with Jesus’s help, we can start a new chapter of our life even in the ashes of disappointment and grief.

We may have doubts that things could ever be as good as they were before. But in every change we go through, Jesus goes with us. In times of uncertainty, when things feel unsettling and frightening and frustrating, we can trust Him to help us adjust and find new ways to live and heal and grow. If a starfish can begin again, we can too. • A. W. Smith

• Have you gone through a major life change recently? How might God be inviting you to begin again? Who are trusted people in your life you can talk with about this change—such as parents, counselors, friends, teachers, etc.?

• When you have faced disappointment in the past, were there any ways you noticed God’s presence with you? How did His love help you begin again?

Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. Lamentations 3:22-23 (NIV)