Transcript:
Hello, welcome to Walking in Step with God. I’m Steve McDonald. Today we learn how to Step Into Renewal as the last segment of our powerful series “The Invitation”. In this series, we have explored the ways that God invites us into an intimate relationship with Him. We have talked about the opportunity to change and even reset our story, ensuring we do not find ourselves trapped in mistakes of the past. We have learned to keep our eyes on God’s light as we walk into the future.
We also discussed the ways we can experience God’s love—a love that shows no boundaries, limitations, constraints, or preconditions. This love applies to every single person on Earth, regardless of what we have done or not done; God has complete and boundless love for everyone.
In our previous episode, we talked about finding inner calm and peace regardless of what is happening in our lives. By keeping God first and at the top of our minds, we learn that no matter our circumstances—whether they are moments of abundance and joy or sorrow and stress—God will be there to help us find inner peace.
Today is the last segment of our series. We are going to dive into how we can step away from being “of the world” and instead step into a new life of faith, where our relationship with God helps us to grow and prosper. Let’s explore ways to step into renewal.
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As we embark on this journey together, sharing the light of faith, we believe God calls each of us to participate in His work in unique ways. We understand that giving back to God is a core part of your spiritual life. Many believe in supporting the place that feeds their soul. If that place is here with us, we invite you to make your contribution to this ministry. We would be truly honored to be entrusted with your offering.
Here is how you can help. I’ll be right back.
Welcome back! Let’s continue in our discussion of ways to step into renewal.
Seek Forgiveness
In many facets of life, when we are starting something new, we must work with a clean slate. When we try to build on a broken foundation, whatever we build will maintain some level of brokenness. When we start from a clean foundation, however, we can order our steps in such a way to build with confidence and assurance that our time and effort will see everlasting results.
We have all made mistakes. We have all made choices that have hurt ourselves or others. I believe we all have done things that, if we had the chance to do over again, we would do differently. Put quite simply: we are all sinners.
I confess that I have made choices and decisions that I know have hurt people, and I truly am sorry for the harm I have caused. With many of these choices, I will never have a chance to truly apologize and ask for forgiveness.
The good news is that God forgives. God has seen every single moment of our lives (the good times and the bad, the smart decisions and the poor decisions). He has seen when we have lifted people up, and He has seen when we have torn people down. Thankfully, God has promised that if we approach Him and ask for forgiveness, He will forgive.
When we talk about the idea of stepping into renewal—even a new way of life—I believe the first step is to seek forgiveness.
We may not be able to seek forgiveness from the people we have wronged, nor should we have an expectation of forgiveness from them. We can, however, always know in our hearts that God knows everything that has happened in our lives, and we can come to Him as a source of renewal.
We can approach Him humbly to ask for forgiveness for the ways we have sinned in our past, and He will absolutely and completely forgive us. While we may live ‌with the consequences of our actions even as we step into renewal, we can know that we have a clean slate with God when we ask Him for forgiveness.
Ask for Guidance
As we step into renewal, now that we’re starting with a clean slate with God, we can ask Him for guidance. God has a special plan for each of us—a perfected plan—that will allow us to be the best versions of ourselves and use the gifts that He has planted within us in ways we could never have dreamed possible.
One of the most amazing things I’ve witnessed about God is His mercy and favor. In my past, I walked so far away from Him. Once I decided to turn to God, He gently and lovingly guided me back to a path that was aligned with His plans for me. I have no doubt that my speaking to you, right now, is a part of His plan for me.
When we ask God for guidance, He will guide us. When we ask Him for direction, He will help us to notice things that will lead us like breadcrumbs to the path that He knows will bring us purpose and fulfillment. There is no one on the earth that knows us as well as God, and so it makes sense to place our trust in Him when it comes to guidance and direction.
God will use signs, experiences, and even others as a vessel to provide you with information and direction along your walk of faith. As you seek to step into a new phase of life (the phase of renewal and reset), ask God to guide, direct, and order your steps to be aligned with His plans for your life.
Walk in Faith
So far today, we’ve talked about approaching God to ask for forgiveness and to wipe the slate clean of all our past sins. This is a fundamental part of starting anything new where there has been brokenness beforehand. In asking God for forgiveness, we can be assured by His promises that we will be forgiven, even if those we have wronged never forgive us.
We’ve also touched on the importance of realizing that God knows us intimately. He knows the gifts He has planted within us, and He knows the plans He has laid out for our lives. Often, we are pulled into the ways of the world and go off course, walking away from the plans He knows would be best for us, but we need only ask Him for guidance. We need only ask Him to show us His plans for us, show us our purpose and reveal the gifts He has planted within us that He knows are best suited for us
When we ask for guidance, God will provide us with signs and counsel from others to lead and guide our steps. Once we have done these things, we can move to the next step: walking in faith.
Walking in faith entails making a decision to trust God for the long term—even trusting God for the rest of your life. Walking in faith means embracing your reset and your clean slate, embracing the fact that you have asked God to guide and lead you, and trusting that He will do so.
Walking in faith is not always easy because you will still be exposed to the ways of the world. You will still be subject to life’s ups and downs, but a walk of faith means you will be equipped to maneuver through challenges in an entirely new way. You also have the ability to experience joy in an entirely new way. It is incredibly beneficial when you decide to keep your eyes on God and let that be the light that shines before you on your path. You cannot go wrong by following His light that shines before your feet, even when there are many distractions all around you.
If you want to truly experience renewal in your life and fully embrace the invitation God has placed before you to have an intimate relationship with Him, walk in faith. Know that He loves you more than anyone else on earth and that He will lead and guide you to a life of purpose, fulfillment, and even joy.
Wrap Up
In today’s message, we wrapped up our series “The Invitation”—God’s invitation for all of us to come to Him as we are, regardless of what we have done or not done in our lives, to have an intimate relationship with Him. Today we talked about the idea of stepping into renewal, leaving a place that is of the world and moving toward a place that is of God and a new life of faith.
We discussed the idea of seeking forgiveness. We have all made mistakes; we have all hurt people or made choices that have caused harm to ourselves or others. We can come to God, despite all of our wrongdoing, and ask Him for forgiveness. God is the only one who truly and completely forgives us for all the sins of our past. We may experience consequences from our actions, but we never need to worry about God not forgiving us. Asking for forgiveness is, I believe, an important first step when we are walking away from the world and toward a new life with Him, where He promises to wipe the slate clean completely and equip you to start an all-new foundation with Him in your life.
Next, we discussed the importance of asking for guidance. God knows you better than you know yourself; He knows your strengths and weaknesses. He knows the skills and gifts that He has planted within you. He’s already created a perfect plan for the rest of your days. The sooner that we can be aligned with God’s plan, the sooner we can live a life that is fulfilling—a life of purpose and even joy. We can approach God at any time to ask Him to keep us aligned with His plans, and He will happily and lovingly course-correct us, no matter how far gone we are, back to what He knows is best for us. He will provide us with divine signs and use others in our circle or even strangers to provide us with counsel and wisdom to lead us to our path. We only need to ask Him to show us the way.
Lastly, we discussed the idea that all of these things come together when we walk in faith. Walking in faith means placing our complete trust in God. This is not always easy. I certainly have learned these lessons much later in life than I would have preferred, now that I know all there is to a relationship with God. Yet, here I am speaking with you because He has found a way to lead and guide me back to His purpose for me and my life. We can never go wrong when we place our trust in God and walk in faith. If we decide to keep our eyes on Him and His light, He will happily provide the lamp at our feet to keep us on track and on point with a life and a plan that He knows is best for us.
God invites each and every one of us into a fulfilling and intimate relationship with Him. Deciding to prioritize a relationship with God is one of the most, if not the most, important decisions I have made in my entire life.
Doing so has transformed my life and transformed my world into one that has peace and calm, even through the storms that I still experience now and again. It has me on track for the rest of my life with a sense of purpose and meaning that I would have never obtained alone.
If you do not know God, He invites you to approach Him as you are (no more, no less) to show you the way to a new life. You have absolutely nothing to lose. I encourage you to open your mind, open your heart, and ask God to help you step into renewal today.
Are you interested in discovering more about the guidance offered in this message? Learn more in the companion article Going Deeper with the Word:Discover Your Inner Calm
