By Ryan Rice
One of my favorite Christmas memories was when my grandparents gave me my very own Nintendo Entertainment System. I can remember playing games such as Duck Hunt, Super Mario Bros., and my favorite, Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out.
The Nintendo Entertainment System was big and bulky, but reliable. There were moments, however, when the game system would freeze, sometimes right in the middle of a level.
The only way to get the game going again was to press the reset button.
While there’s no reset button in real life, the Lord does give us opportunities to re-adjust our outlook on life or to reconsider how we should spend our time and energy.
Maybe it’s time to “reset” a few things in your life. Here are four to consider.
1. RESET YOUR THINKING.
Romans 12:2 says, “Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.” As believers, we must continually renew our thinking.
The world lives and dies by their emotions—basing decisions on feelings instead of on what’s objectively right and true.
As Christian leaders, our thinking must not conform to how the world views life, success, and faith. Let us steadily return to the Lord Jesus and His Word as the basis for our thoughts.
2. RESET YOUR TIME.
Jesus used His time to do the will of His Father. But He also used many of His waking hours to spend time with the Father. The Gospels often record Jesus going off to pray in solitude.
In our culture, slowing down is rare. But slowing down for prayer is never wasted time. While your reset should involve carving out time for prayer, also give yourself time to recharge spiritually, emotionally, and physically.
God didn’t design us to operate 24/7. When we’re fatigued, it’s easy for overwhelming sadness, anxiety, and even depression to weigh us down.
3. RESET YOUR TECHNOLOGY.
Our culture is attached to smartphones, computers, and TV remotes.
Have you ever tracked the amount of time you give to technology? While it does have its benefits, the drawbacks are just as high.
An undue emphasis on technology can take your eyes off your family and the real world around you. Technology can become an escape from the stress your facing, but an over-reliance on it only gives you a false assurance of rest.
At times, my kids can see me scrolling on my phone and working on my laptop more than they see me praying or reading the Bible. My phone is often the final thing I look at before I go to sleep and is there to greet me when I wake up.
The question we must ask ourselves is: Have we become slaves to technology?
4. RESET YOUR VIEW OF GRACE.
The grace of God is still sufficient today. Grace isn’t something we have to earn, strive, or work toward. The grace of God extends to us from the finished work of Christ.
Paul Tripp writes, “Glorious grace has connected you to the One whose power and love don’t shift with the times.”
We’re still God’s children when we miss a phone call, can’t make it the hospital, or don’t knock a message out of the park. If God has called you to ministry, He can indeed sustain you—especially in those moments when you realize you can’t do it all.
We must rely and depend daily on God’s grace. It shows us perfection isn’t what God desires from us. Today, take a step back and reset your heart, mind, and emotions on the Lord Jesus Christ.
If His grace was powerful enough to save you, it’s also great enough to sustain you. God’s grace isn’t only new every morning, it’s also available at this very moment.
“Because of the Lord’s faithful love we do not perish, for his mercies never end. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness!” -Lamentations 3:22-23
RYAN RICE, SR. (@ryanricesr) is husband to Seané, father of Ryan, Jr., Brayden, Reagen, and Bailey, and has been in ministry since 2007. He’s currently the lead pastor of Connect Church of Algiers in New Orleans, Louisiana, which they planted in 2014.
