Devotionals for the Heart: Life lessons learned on faith and new beginnings

Faith in New Beginnings

A devotional by Wendy Wilson Spooner

“Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.” 

–Proverbs 3:5-6 (KJV)

New beginnings usually feel marvelous, like a new year, which we have just begun.

We start going to the gym with a somewhat great attitude, and so it begins.

Grand new beginnings are an excellent way to start over. But what about the small ones? There’s nothing like waking up in the morning to see everything bathed in the light of the sun, which reminds us of Jesus Christ (God’s Son), who is the Light of the world (John 8:12). This new beginning alone can feel magical. Especially if the day before was a rough one.

This past year was a difficult one for me. 2020 was awful for everyone, but 2021 continued on its merry way for me, in a similar fashion. I found myself crying and pleading with God many times to give me direction. He sent me either comfort or peace when He didn’t send me an exact solution, but I got one or the other whenever I dropped to my knees.

Sometimes life will knock the wind out of you to the extent when you can’t breathe. Such as when a loved one dies, or divorce rocks your family, or when a child is struggling, and you don’t know what to do. The feeling can be like lying at the bottom of a deep pit with a ladder in view (Jesus Christ as your way up and out of the pit). But you only have the strength to pray for the will to crawl to Him.

Each of us gains the strength to overcome in our own time and in our own way. With Jesus by our side, it will be the perfect timing for every one of us. Leaning on Him and His Word (The Holy Bible) is “the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6). Jesus is the only way to the path of renewal.

The most important thing to remember is that the direction you are moving in is more important than where you are at the moment.

Set aside some time to think about where you want to be and what it will take for you to get there. Jesus, our example to follow, often headed into the wilderness to pray. We need to do something similar occasionally to reset our thoughts and God-given spirits.

We should use time to our advantage. If we reflect daily on the attributes of Jesus and set goals one step at a time to become more like Him, then we’ll find peace and fortitude in the long journey through this mortal existence.

And if we take advantage of new beginnings, the large and the small with Jesus by our side, we can make progress that we could never make on our own. Maybe more than we dreamed of.

This year, I’m working on seeing time as my ally instead of my enemy. I’ve set a goal to strike from my thoughts and speech the words, “I don’t have enough time,” and just believe I do.

Because that’s what faith is. Faith in new beginnings, faith in Christ, and faith that He stands by our side as we start over, time and time again.

Let’s Pray: Dear God, help us to come to You, and to believe we can do all things with You. Bless us with faith to begin again whenever we need to. In Jesus’ Name I pray. Amen.

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Author Bio:

Wendy is a Genetic Genealogist by day, a writer by night, and an artist in between. 

Her love of what we can learn from history compels her to write the true stories she unearths because she’s found that truth is indeed much more exciting and inspiring than fiction.

Wendy writes about family, faith, grief, art, and overcoming obstacles in life by coming to know who we really are—the children of God, and the descendants of incredible people who paved the way for us—even if they really struggled. Wendy believes in learning from our ancestors, honoring them, and then standing on their shoulders to become a better generation.

As an award-winning family history writer, Wendy’s debut novel, Once Upon an Irish Summer, released April 3, 2020. This book is a dual timeline historical fiction novel about a young, gifted artist suffering from debilitating grief, who finds healing and inspiration in her Irish ancestry, and goes on to paint a masterpiece.

The sequel, Celtic Winter: Eliza’s Story, released November 5, 2021. The storyline goes back in time to the little sister left behind in Ireland to keep her family alive, woven with present-day Beth’s continuing story as she races the clock with the young man she loves to find the only person who could save his mother’s life.

When Wendy is not researching or writing, she hikes, paints, loves being a church youth leader, binges on epic Bollywood movies, and hangs out with her greatest loves—her family.

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Connect with Wendy:
Website: https://wendywilsonspooner.com/
Blog: https://wendywilsonspooner.com/blog
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorWendyWilsonSpooner/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wendyspooner/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Wendy_W_Spooner