OCT 19 | Why God Keeps Making You Start Over (And It's Actually Good News)
How many times can you restart your faith before God gives up on you?
If you've ever asked yourself this question—if you've made and broken spiritual promises more times than you can count—I need you to keep reading. Because what I'm about to show you from Scripture might completely revolutionize how you understand your relationship with God.
The voice in your head that says "Eventually, God's patience runs out"? It's lying.
And I can prove it using three of the Bible's most revered heroes: Abraham, the Israelites, and King David himself.
The Truth Nobody Tells You About Abraham's Faith Journey
We love to hold up Abraham as the ultimate example of faith. The "father of faith." The giant of Scripture. The guy who got it right.
But here's what your Sunday school teacher probably didn't mention: Abraham's entire story is essentially one continuous string of do-overs.
Let me walk you through this chronologically, because it's stunning when you see it laid out:
Genesis 12 - God calls Abram (his original name). He responds in faith. He builds an altar—a fresh start with God.
Genesis 13 - He completely messes up. Travels to Egypt. Lies about his wife Sarah being his sister out of fear. Returns to Canaan ashamed. Builds another altar. Another fresh start.
Genesis 15 - He doubts God's promise about having descendants. His faith wavers. God shows up again and renews the covenant. Another restart.
Genesis 17 - Now he's ninety-nine years old. After decades of following God, he still hasn't fully trusted the promise. God appears to him yet again, changes his name to Abraham, and reaffirms everything. Yet another fresh start.
The Hebrew Word That Changes Everything
The Hebrew word for altar is mizbeach. It literally translates to "place of slaughter"—a location where something must die so that something else can live.
Every single time Abraham built an altar, he was making a profound spiritual declaration: "The old version of me? Dead. I'm trying this faith thing again."
And here's the revolutionary part: God didn't just tolerate Abraham's restarts. He designed the entire system around them.
God never said, "Abraham, this is your third chance, and I'm getting tired of this." He never rolled His eyes or sighed in frustration. He kept showing up. Kept renewing. Kept restarting.
This wasn't Plan B. This was THE plan.
The Wilderness: God's Graduate School in Starting Over
Fast forward a few hundred years to the Israelites wandering in the wilderness for forty years. Most Christians see this as punishment—a tragic waste of time because of their unbelief.
But what if we're reading it wrong?
God gave the Israelites a supernatural GPS system: a pillar of cloud during the day and fire at night. The instructions were beautifully simple—when the cloud moved, they moved. When it stopped, they stopped.
Here's what's fascinating about this arrangement:
Sometimes that cloud would hover in one location for days, even weeks. The Israelites would unpack their tents, set up camp, arrange their living spaces, get comfortable in the routine.
Then suddenly—without warning—the cloud would move. Pack everything up. Start over. New location.
Other times, the cloud would move three days in a row. Unpack, repack. Unpack, repack. Unpack, repack.
Can you imagine the frustration? The exhaustion? The questions they must have asked: "God, can we just SETTLE already? Can we just get this right and stay put?"
Following Versus Arriving
But God was teaching them something profound about spiritual life: It's not about arriving. It's about following.
The Greek word used in the New Testament for this concept is akoloutheo. It means "to accompany, to go along with, to be in the same way with."
Notice what it doesn't mean: "to finally get it right and then coast." "To reach a destination and retire." "To achieve perfection and maintain it."
The Christian life is fundamentally about movement, adjustment, and yes—constant restarting. Not because we're failures, but because we're following a living God who's always on the move, always doing something new.
David's Prayer That Should Encourage Every Believer
Now let's talk about David—the man after God's own heart. The king. The psalmist. The giant-slayer.
Who committed adultery with Bathsheba.
Who murdered her husband Uriah to cover it up.
Who had the prophet Nathan confront him with the devastating truth of his sin.
David's world shattered. His self-image as a righteous king crumbled. Everything he thought he was got exposed as a lie.
And in that moment of complete brokenness, David wrote Psalm 51.
The Genesis 1 Prayer
Here's the line that should give hope to every single person reading this:
"Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me." (Psalm 51:10)
The Hebrew word David uses for "create" is bara. This is the exact same word used in Genesis 1:1—"In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth."
Do you see what David is doing here?
He's not asking God to fix what's broken. He's not asking for a tune-up or a repair job. He's asking God to create something from nothing. To do the Genesis 1 thing all over again in his heart. To bring order out of chaos. Light out of darkness.
David is asking for a complete restart. Not an upgrade. Not a renovation. A total recreation.
And here's what will blow your mind: God says yes.
David doesn't lose his throne. He doesn't get written out of Israel's history. He doesn't become a cautionary tale we're told to avoid becoming.
Instead, he becomes the example Jesus himself points back to. The ancestor listed in Matthew's genealogy. The template for understanding the Messiah. The author of the prayers and songs God's people would sing for thousands of years.
God specializes in complete restarts.
The New Testament Restart: Peter's Beach Breakfast
If you want to see this restart principle in full color in the New Testament, look at Peter.
Peter—who swore he'd never deny Jesus. Who declared his loyalty louder than anyone. Who pulled out a sword in the Garden of Gethsemane to defend his Lord.
And then denied knowing Jesus three times. Swore he'd never met him. Went back to his old life of fishing because he thought the story was over.
Then Jesus shows up on the beach after the resurrection and does something remarkably tender: He makes Peter breakfast.
This is so characteristically Jesus. Not a thundering rebuke. Not a divine guilt trip. Breakfast.
And then three times—once for each denial—Jesus asks Peter the same question: "Do you love me?"
Three Altars on a Beach
Each question was an opportunity. A chance to restart. An altar, if you will, where the old Peter who denied Christ could die and the new Peter who would lead the church could live.
Three chances to start over.
Three moments of grace.
Three invitations to try again.
Peter could have disqualified himself. He could have decided his failure was too great. He could have walked away convinced that God could never use someone who failed so publicly.
But Jesus wouldn't let him.
The Theological Foundation: Continuous Renewal
The Apostle Paul gives us the theological framework for all of this in Romans 12:2:
"Be transformed by the renewing of your mind."
That word "renewing" in Greek is anakainosis. And here's what's crucial: It's in the present tense, indicating continuous action.
Paul isn't saying, "Be renewed once and you're good."
He's saying, "Keep being renewed. Over and over. Again and again. Continuously."
The Christian life isn't about achieving a state of perfection and maintaining it. It's about showing up to God's renewal process day after day after day.
The Restart Is Built Into the System
Think about the spiritual practices God gave us:
Communion - "Do this in remembrance of me." How often? Regularly. Weekly for many traditions. It's a restart button. A chance to remember, refocus, and begin again.
Confession - First John 1:9 says, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." Notice it doesn't say "if we confess once." It's whenever we confess. As many times as necessary.
Morning mercies - Lamentations 3:22-23 declares, "The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness."
Not recycled mercies. Not begrudging mercies. Not "I guess I'll give you one more chance" mercies.
New mercies. Fresh. Every single morning.
The Rhythm of Scripture: Fall Down, Get Up, Repeat
When you step back and look at the entire narrative arc of Scripture, you see a consistent pattern:
Fall down. Get up. Fall down. Get up. Build an altar. Follow the cloud. Ask for a new heart. Start again.
This isn't a bug in the system. It's the feature.
God isn't surprised by your need to restart. He's not disappointed that you haven't "gotten it" yet. He's not checking His watch wondering when you'll finally figure this out.
He built the restart into the design of the Christian life.
Shame Versus Grace: The Two Competing Narratives
Here's where the rubber meets the road for most of us.
We have two competing voices in our heads:
Shame says: "You've failed too many times. God's patience has limits. Eventually, He'll give up on you. You should give up on yourself."
Grace says: "Let's try this again. I'm more committed to your transformation than you are to your shame. We've got time. Let's keep going."
The question isn't "How many times can I start over before God gives up?"
The real question is: "Will I trust that God's more committed to my transformation than I am to my shame?"
Practical Application: Building Your Own Altar Today
So what does this look like practically? How do we apply this truth to our actual lives?
Here's what I want to challenge you with:
Identify one area where you've given up on yourself.
Maybe it's a sin pattern you've battled for years. Maybe it's a spiritual discipline you've started and stopped a dozen times. Maybe it's a relationship you've damaged. Maybe it's a calling you think you've disqualified yourself from.
One area where you've decided: "It's too late. I've failed too many times. God's probably done with me on this."
Pray David's prayer out loud:
"Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a right spirit within me."
Not "fix my heart." Not "help me try harder." Not "give me willpower."
Create. The Genesis 1 word. Ask God to make something from nothing. To bring light out of your darkness. To start completely over.
Why Out Loud Matters
There's something powerful about vocalizing this prayer. When you speak it out loud—in your car, in your room, on a walk—you're doing what Abraham did when he built those altars.
You're making a physical, tangible declaration: "The old version of me on this issue? I'm letting it die. I'm asking God to create something new."
The Sacred Art of Starting Over
This isn't a backup plan. This isn't what happens when Plan A fails.
This is the whole plan.
Abraham got multiple altars throughout his life. Israel got a cloud that never stopped moving, constantly requiring them to restart. David got a clean heart created from the wreckage of his worst sin. Peter got three questions on a beach—three chances to restart after his worst failure.
You get today. And tomorrow. And every day after that.
The sacred art of starting over isn't about weakness. It's about wisdom. It's about understanding that spiritual growth doesn't happen in a straight line. It happens in spirals, in cycles, in rhythms of falling and rising.
God Never Gets Tired of Your Restarts
Here's what I need you to understand deep in your bones:
God is not annoyed by your need to start over. He's not surprised. He's not disappointed. He's not keeping score. He's not comparing you to other Christians who seem to "get it" faster.
He knows you're dust (Psalm 103:14). He knows your frame. He understands your weakness better than you do.
And He's already factored all of it into His plan for your life.
Every restart is a testimony to His faithfulness, not your failure.
Every new beginning is evidence of His patience, not proof of your inadequacy.
Every altar you build is a monument to grace.
Your Next Step
So here's my challenge to you:
What altar do you need to build today?
What area of your life needs a complete restart—not a small adjustment, but a Genesis 1 recreation?
Where have you been listening to shame instead of grace?
Tell someone. Write it down. Pray it out loud. Do something physical and tangible to mark this moment.
Because God is ready. He's been ready. He's always ready.
The question is: Are you ready to accept that He's more interested in your restart than He is in your track record?
Abraham built his altars. Israel followed the cloud. David prayed for a clean heart. Peter answered three questions on a beach.
Now it's your turn.
Start over. Again.
God's waiting with new mercies. Fresh grace. Another chance.
And another one after that.
And another one after that.
Because that's who He is. That's what He does. That's the sacred art of starting over.
An Invitation to go Deeper….
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