IT’S OK TO HIT THE RESET BUTTON

Genesis 35, beginning in verse 1, the Bible says, “And God said unto Jacob, Arise, go up to Bethel, and dwell there: and make there an altar unto God, that appeared unto thee when thou fleddest from the face of Esau thy brother. ² Then Jacob said unto his household, and to all that were with him, Put away the strange gods that are among you, and be clean, and change your garments: ³ And let us arise, and go up to Bethel; and I will make there an altar unto God, who answered me in the day of my distress, and was with me in the way which I went. ⁴ And they gave unto Jacob all the strange gods which were in their hand, and all their earrings which were in their ears; and Jacob hid them under the oak which was by Shechem. ⁵ And they journeyed: and the terror of God was upon the cities that were round about them, and they did not pursue after the sons of Jacob. ⁶ So Jacob came to Luz, which is in the land of Canaan, that is, Bethel, he and all the people that were with him. ⁷ And he built there an altar, and called the place Elbethel: because there God appeared unto him, when he fled from the face of his brother.“

As I was reading this passage of Scripture, my mind (and thoughts) kept going back to verse 1, “. . . Arise, go up to Bethel, make there and altar unto God, that appeared unto thee when thou fleddest from the face of Esau thy brother.”  The thought occurred to me that this wasn’t the first time Jacob had been to Bethel – he had been there before.  Apparently, just as God did with Noah and humanity, and just as He did for us with His “Only Begotten Son,” God gave Jacob the opportunity to hit the “reset button” in his life.

Why do pencils come with erasers?  Because EVERYONE makes mistakes writing or drawing.  Erasers give you the chance to hit the “reset button.”  Do you remember “back-in-the-day” when we had VHS tapes? When you rented them, before you turned them back in, you had to rewind them or be charged a fee.  It is amazing the technology we have today that allows us to hit the reset button at anytime on our electronic gadgets.  On my smart TV, I can hit the rewind or even the rest buttons even during a live show.  How awesome is that?

You know what is even more awesome, the fact that God has given us the ability to hit the reset button in our lives.  Maybe you are having problems in a relationship.  I have someone close to me whose marital relationship was hit with a bombshell.  My friend, Scripturally, could have walked away from that relationship, but instead, he looked at himself, realized it takes two to make a relationship work, and asked God to give him a “reset” on his marriage.  Folks, it’s OK to hit the reset button.

Over the past couple of years, I’ve been struggling with my health (several broken bones, blood clots), and gaining a little more weight than I would have liked.  So, my wife (bless her heart), knowing I can’t resist a challenge, signed us up to run a Spartan Race (you can’t even imagine the shock on my face).  My wife, realized that if we continued down the road we were going, we wouldn’t be around to see our 10 grandchildren grow up, so she hit the “reset button” on our health.  For the past 3 weeks, we have gone to a complete plant-based diet and are exercising every day.  Feeling the challenge himself, my son Joshua is exercising daily with us, and we are now running the Spartan race as a team, and more importantly, as a family.  Folks, it’s OK to hit the reset button.

Recently, our family has left the ministry we’ve been involved with for 3 years.  We left the church we loved, the friends we’ve grown to love, and I’ll tell you, it’s been very difficult, and at times very painful.  But you know what?  God didn’t tell us that the journey to get to the place He wants us to be, the place that He has espied for us, the place that He knows He can best use us, our talents and our abilities, would be easy or pain-free.  So I am extremely grateful that God gives us the ability to hit the “reset button.”

Father, this morning, there may be someone reading this blog that desperately needs to hit the “reset button” in their life, maybe it is concerning a relationship, or a personal failure, possibly their health or even their relationship with a church.  Father would you give them the opportunity to hit the “reset button” and start over!  Thank you for always being there for me and for always allowing me to hit that button.  We love you and we praise you, in Jesus Name – AMEN!