Five LoavesBible verses about starting over
A fresh start can feel too big or too late. These seven passages are about God doing something new, and about steady steps that count even when they are small.
For after a move, a loss, a mistake, or a season that ended. God is a God of new beginnings. Each day offers one passage, a few quiet thoughts, a prayer, and one small step forward.
Day 1 A new thing
18 Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old.
19 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 43:18-19 (King James Version)
God tells his people not to dwell on the former things, because he is doing something new. Not just fixing the old, but making a way in the wilderness. Whatever has ended, God is not finished with you.
Day 2 Made new
17 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 (King James Version)
In Christ you are a new creation. The old has passed away. That isn't about pretending the past didn't happen. It means your past doesn't get the final say about who you are.
Day 3 Restored
15 So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs.
16 He saith to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep.
17 He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep.
John 21:15-17 (King James Version)
Peter had denied Jesus three times. After the resurrection Jesus didn't shame him. He asked three times, "Lovest thou me?" and gave him work to do. Failure is not the end of your story with Jesus. He restores and sends.
Day 4 Forward
13 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,
14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 3:13-14 (King James Version)
Paul, with a past he regretted, chose to forget what lay behind and press toward what was ahead. Moving forward isn't erasing the past. It's refusing to live there.
Day 5 He finishes
6 Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:
Philippians 1:6 (King James Version)
God began a good work in you, and he will carry it on to completion. Starting over can feel like going back to zero. But God never starts from nothing with you. He picks up where he has always been working.
Day 6 A hope and a future
11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.
Jeremiah 29:11 (King James Version)
God spoke these words to people in exile, far from home, in a season they hadn't chosen. His plans were for peace and a future, even there. Your new beginning may not be what you planned, but God's thoughts toward you are still good.
Day 7 Steady steps
23 The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord: and he delighteth in his way.
24 Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the Lord upholdeth him with his hand.
Psalm 37:23-24 (King James Version)
The Lord orders the steps of those who trust him, and even when they stumble, they are not utterly cast down, because he holds their hand. Starting over is a walk of small steps, and you are not walking it alone.