Do you sometimes feel as though life is passing or has passed you by? Like life is happening for everyone else but you? You’ve worked hard, done all the right things but not seeing the results you’d like? Have you been praying and seeking the Lord for answers but the heavens seem like brass? Take heart dear friend, God is about to bring about a reset in your life. Sometimes the greatest times of frustration in our lives is the opportunity God needs to get us where He needs us to be.
Peter, James and John had a fishing business. But like any other enterprise you’ve got good days and bad days. How is it possible that a lake teeming with fish can suddenly become almost like a dried up well? Career fishermen who knew all there was to know about fishing, and could probably do it with their eyes closed, toiled all night and caught zip. That must’ve been so frustrating. They had to put in the same work cleaning the nets even though they caught nothing. Then the great reset happened.
“One day as Jesus was preaching on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, great crowds pressed in on Him to listen to the word of God. He noticed two empty boats at the water’s edge, for the fishermen had left them and were washing their nets. Stepping into one of the boats, Jesus asked Simon, its owner, to push it out into the water. So he sat in the boat and taught the crowds from there. When He had finished speaking, He said to Simon, “Now go out where it is deeper, and let down your nets to catch some fish.” “Master,” Simon replied, “we worked hard all last night and didn’t catch a thing. But if You say so, I’ll let the nets down again.” And this time their nets were so full of fish they began to tear! A shout for help brought their partners in the other boat, and soon both boats were filled with fish and on the verge of sinking. When Simon Peter realized what had happened, he fell to his knees before Jesus and said, “Oh, Lord, please leave me—I’m such a sinful man.” For he was awestruck by the number of fish they had caught, as were the others with him. His partners, James and John, the sons of Zebedee, were also amazed. Jesus replied to Simon, “Don’t be afraid! From now on you’ll be fishing for people!” And as soon as they landed, they left everything and followed Jesus.”
Luke 5:1-11 NLT
If anyone had told these three business men that they would abandon their life’s work to start a new career on a stranger’s word, they would’ve laughed at them. But this was no ordinary stranger, this was the God of the great reset. The reason He told Peter not to be afraid was because this called for leaving the familiar to launch out into the unknown. Peter had a family to support, leaving behind what he knew must’ve been scary, but when the Master resets your life there’s no time for hesitation. That encounter changed three lives forever. Let’s look at another life that was affected by God’s great reset.
“Then the Lord told him, “Go back the same way you came, and travel to the wilderness of Damascus. When you arrive there, anoint Hazael to be king of Aram. Then anoint Jehu grandson of Nimshi to be king of Israel, and anoint Elisha son of Shaphat from the town of Abel-meholah to replace you as My prophet.”1 Kings 19:15-16 NLT
None of these men had any idea about what God was about to do. They were all going about their day doing what they normally did. But their lives were about to encounter a reset. Ordinary men were about to be kings to carry out God’s plan, the other was about to become one of the greatest prophets and miracle workers in all of Israel. God never resets idle lives, He’s always looking for those who though obscure and living ordinary lives, they are not sitting around complaining or crying woe is me, but they’re actually doing whatever their hands find to do. Ecclesiastes 9:10
“So Elijah went and found Elisha son of Shaphat plowing a field. There were twelve teams of oxen in the field, and Elisha was plowing with the twelfth team. Elijah went over to him and threw his cloak across his shoulders and then walked away. Elisha left the oxen standing there, ran after Elijah, and said to him, “First let me go and kiss my father and mother good-bye, and then I will go with you!” Elijah replied, “Go on back, but think about what I have done to you.” So Elisha returned to his oxen and slaughtered them. He used the wood from the plow to build a fire to roast their flesh. He passed around the meat to the townspeople, and they all ate. Then he went with Elijah as his assistant.” 1 Kings 19:19-21 NLT
Have you noticed a pattern so far? The great reset requires that we leave the past behind. It requires immediacy. There’s an urgency to the reset. There’s no time to contemplate the next move. Why? Because the move is based purely on obedience and trust. We aren’t given details, God alone holds the script, He’s the Author and Finisher. To be chosen is an honor to obey is a privilege. Resets come at a cost. We may have to leave the familiar to embrace challenges that will test our faith, but our obedience will pave the way to a life filled with inexplicable joy and peace. Walking with the Master is a great adventure as has been attested by the recorded ministry of these six men whose lives were impacted by the great reset. Let’s continue.
“Meanwhile, Saul was uttering threats with every breath and was eager to kill the Lord’s followers. So he went to the high priest. He requested letters addressed to the synagogues in Damascus, asking for their cooperation in the arrest of any followers of the Way he found there. He wanted to bring them—both men and women—back to Jerusalem in chains. As he was approaching Damascus on this mission, a light from heaven suddenly shone down around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul! Saul! Why are you persecuting me?” “Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked. And the voice replied, “I am Jesus, the one you are persecuting! Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.” The men with Saul stood speechless, for they heard the sound of someone’s voice but saw no one! Saul picked himself up off the ground, but when he opened his eyes he was blind. So his companions led him by the hand to Damascus. He remained there blind for three days and did not eat or drink. Now there was a believer in Damascus named Ananias. The Lord spoke to him in a vision, calling, “Ananias!” “Yes, Lord!” he replied. The Lord said, “Go over to Straight Street, to the house of Judas. When you get there, ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul. He is praying to Me right now. I have shown him a vision of a man named Ananias coming in and laying hands on him so he can see again.” “But Lord,” exclaimed Ananias, “I’ve heard many people talk about the terrible things this man has done to the believers in Jerusalem! And he is authorized by the leading priests to arrest everyone who calls upon Your Name.” But the Lord said, “Go, for Saul is My chosen instrument to take My message to the Gentiles and to kings, as well as to the people of Israel. And I will show him how much he must suffer for My Name’s sake.”
Acts of the Apostles 9:1-16 NLT
This great reset makes the others seem like a walk in the park. At least they were serving Jehovah. This one was on the opposite end. A religious zealot who thought anyone who believed in Jesus was breaking the Jewish laws. He murdered and gave his consent to murdering Christians. He wreaked havoc with the churches. Even the man sent to visit him was terrified at the thought of seeing him. But Jesus had performed a great resetting in Saul’s heart. He became the author of a third of the New Testament writings and an amazing ambassador for Christ and the spreading of the gospel. Saul had no idea what awaited him on the Damascus road. He had an agenda that didn’t square with the Lord’s plan. But when God has His eyes on you, it’s only a matter of time before you’ll encounter the great reset. Saul was wrong in his religion but right in his passion. He was passionate about Judaism, he just hadn’t yet met the Jewish Rabbi Jesus. God knows how to use your passion for His greater purpose.
I could go on to Gideon, hiding in a wine press, when the Angel of the Lord called him a mighty man of valor, or Mary the mother of our Lord, or Abraham, or David, Or Mephibosheth, or Esther, or Ruth, or Moses or Joshua. Ordinary people who experienced the great reset. You can go read their stories and more like theirs. These stories were written to encourage us. To let us see ourselves in their experiences. No one is overlooked by God. He has a specific time for our reset. These weren’t random acts of God, these resetting moments had been in the mind of God before they were even born. The same is true of us. But they weren’t sitting around frustrated and dejected, they were living their lives, serving Jehovah. The Bible says His eyes run throughout the earth looking for someone to demonstrate His power on their behalf. But if we’re whining instead of trusting then it seems like an eternity has passed us by.
“For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew Himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward Him.
2 Chronicles 16:9a KJV
Is your heart perfect towards God? Then you’re in the right place for a great reset. He keeps those whose minds are stayed on Him in perfect peace. Remember the questions I asked at the beginning? The place of your frustration is God’s opportunity to bring about change. Maybe He’s shaking your self reliance, making you refocus on what is priority in your life. Has He asked you to do a particular thing but you have been afraid to do it because you can’t see the outcome? In order for the reset to work, we have to step out in faith. The examples I gave did just that. Gideon used a fleece, and God allowed it, Mary asked how it would be possible because she knew what it took to have a child. In both instances God gave a response, but it still demanded faith on their part. The great reset happened because they obeyed. Are you willing to risk it all for the unfamiliar? The unknown? Then get ready for God’s great reset.
No, life hasn’t passed you by, you haven’t been overlooked and the heavens aren’t brass. You just need to change your perspective about God and your relationship with Him. Stop looking inward and outward and begin looking up. Your help comes from Him. Your aspiration, dreams and goals must be established in the Word of God. If you’re not a Christian reading this, you’re flying by the seat of your pants. You have no sure foundation on which to build your life. The only reset available to you is moving from death to life through believing and receiving Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior of your life. Life truly is passing you by. But as a child of God, the opportunity for a reset is endless. Peter, James and John had no idea they’d be doing anything else but fishing. Moses had no idea he’d be a deliverer and the fulfillment of a four hundred year old promise. Mary had no idea she’d give birth to her Lord and the Savior of the world. Esther had no idea she’d be the one to save her people from annihilation. They were just ordinary people like you and me who had an encounter with the God of the resets.
“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 43:19 KJV
“For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.”
Habakkuk 2:3 KJV
We may not know the time of the great resetting of our lives, but we know that the One who says He’s doing a new thing says wait. So we rest while we work at what He’s assigned us to do. He knows where we are.
Written by permission of the Holy Spirit
W. Tennant
September 7, 2021