Hello friends, welcome to In Bolden. I'm Chris Shatter, an ordinary Christian living with and learning about an extraordinary God. Welcome to the new series, New Beginnings. I read this great comment by a young woman that I follow on Instagram.
And it goes, 2022 is not going to be your year. It's God's year. In fact, every year has been and will be his. Once you believe that your life and your time all belong to him, every year will be a victory.
He holds the victory and the whole world in his hands every year, every day, live for him. I hope that's what you get out of this series. Enjoy. Hi friends.
Welcome to our next installment of New Beginnings. I got COVID and a touch on ammonia a little bit ago, so my voice might sound a little funny today. We're going to start today's episode from Genesis 1, 27. So God created mankind in his own image and in the image of God, he created them.
Male and female, he created them. During December of 2020, many people kept announcing that quote, next year will definitely be better. I can understand the longing, the hope and the desire. I mean, let's face it.
2020 was rife with fear, loss, despair and worry. I told people around me to be careful about romanticizing the turn of a calendar. I mean, who knew what 2021 would bring? Floods, fires, more plagues, death, political uprisings, and well, it certainly didn't disappoint.
A short walk through the say, the book of James or Jude reminds us that the trials of many kinds befall us each and every year. And it's our response to those trials that sets us apart from the world. So often when we think of New Beginnings, we can think of them as an adventure, something exciting to embark upon. Probably something God will guide you through to success.
But what if your new beginning is a result of a terrible trial, a loss? Will you still seek God and see him at work in the midst of it all? If there's one man who's new beginning exemplified having to start all over, having lost it all, it was Adam. He had everything you and I could ever watch, a beautiful home, plenty to eat and drink, no worries except what to name the next animal.
His yoke was light and he was to be the way maker for us all. Genesis 2.15 goes on, the Lord took the man and put him in the garden to work it and take care of it. And when Adam failed to honor his end of the covenant, he did what a lot of us do when we fail God. He tried to hide and shame.
Instead of running to God asking for forgiveness, he compounded his sins by acting shamefully. But God, Genesis 3.9, but the Lord God called to the man, where are you? Millions of Christians and non-believers know the story that took place in the Garden of Eden. And when we look at God's actions, we see his loving care for us humans, his unique creation.
He knew Adam had failed, yet noticed he didn't let him go. He sought him out with a gentle question. He could have immediately wiped the slate free of humanity after that betrayal. Instead, God clothed Adam in new garments, gave him new skills and set him off on a new beginning, a chance to be the first step in the long path toward the new Adam, Jesus.
And Adam, by all accounts, he accepted the results of his sin and moved forward into his new beginning, a life outside the walls of Eden, but one in which God was fully present. Adam and Eve didn't step outside the gates, just plunked down and give up. They didn't choose to live and shame and despair. No, they knew God.
They knew God still loved them and cared for them. So they took the new direction God gave them and made a new life. I love the last few lines in Genesis 4 in which Adam and Eve are mentioned. Genesis 4.26.
At that time, people began to call on the name of the Lord. Adam and his family, they never stopped worshiping God. They never stopped talking with him, even though they had suffered a great loss. They brought their first fruits to him and stayed close to God.
And their work, their new beginning brought others to God as well. If not for their commitment to God's new beginning, laid out for them, there wouldn't have been their sunset. And Seth led to Noah, and without Noah, there wouldn't have been the righteous man left to continue humanity. This is God's plan at work.
God's plan working, even when it comes out of sin or loss. And it's our job to keep trusting him and accepting him at his word. I'll be honest, for most of my life, I've been an avowed pessimist. It's taken a lot of work by our Triune God to help me see him in my trials, to see how he is working a good new thing in our lives.
When circumstances go wrong around me, my new attitude is that God is in my midst. He does want all things to work for good. I may never know what my commitment to him, how it will affect the grand plan. But I do know he never left Adam, and he will never leave you.
Friend, have you been tempted to give up on God after a trial or loss? God is still working in your life. He's asking you to trust him. Call on him today for strength to live in your new beginning.
Have a great day. I hope you enjoyed this episode of The Abolden Podcast. Be sure to follow along so you don't miss any episode. And check out my blog at Embolden.net.