Have you ever felt life had gotten so bad that you wanted to hit some kind of restart button? Sometimes we get mired and dragged down in problems that seem so big that we feel we’ll never be able to climb out of the hole we’re in. We’re heartsick because of a relationship that ended or discouraged because of marital problems or a devastating job loss, or we feel separated from God because of a sinful act. When we hit rock bottom and feel worn out mentally and spiritually, we can turn to Him for a refreshing.     

Life can bruise and wound, leaving us feeling like we just want to move on and leave the painful past behind. On our own, it can seem impossible to get past the scars and bad memories. But when we’re at the end of our rope, God does the impossible. “Thus saith the Lord, which maketh a way in the sea, and a path in the mighty waters; remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert” (Isaiah 43:16, 18, 19). When God embraces us, He frees us and empowers us to let go of old hurts and move forward.

We can struggle with a problem for months, or even years, until we’re totally worn out. We lose hope and get discouraged, knowing that as hard as we try, we can’t improve the situation through our own efforts. Our spirits wilt and faint within us, but when we turn the problem over to God, we find new strength we didn’t have before. “He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: but they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint” (Isaiah 40:29-31).

We may think that there’s no overcoming our past, and it will always follow us. But no matter how badly our lives are messed up, when we accept Jesus as our personal Lord and Savior, He comes to live in us. In God’s eyes, our past is gone and our old self vanishes forever! “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17). When God looks at us, He no longer sees sin, but instead He sees Jesus.

There’s a definite connection between the mind and the heart, and what we think about and dwell on in our mind eventually moves down into our heart. God renews our mind when we read His Word and meditate on it. “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God” (Romans 12:2). “And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; and that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness” (Ephesians 4:23, 24). God’s will is to mend our broken hearts and spirits with His love. When we desperately want to start over, we only have to go to Him!