The siren signaling the start of the second half of my daughter’s college soccer game sounds exactly like the sirens in Pac-Man. You know the ones: woo woo woo.
At the end of the first half, my girl’s team was exhausted. Their faces were red, their legs muddy. They’d played their hearts out for forty-five minutes, but they were winded. They’d had to make hundreds of quick decisions on the field—should they carry the ball or pass it? To who? Should they drop back or stay put? All these choices also left them mentally exhausted.
But at the sound of that siren, my girl’s team ran back out to the field sharp, alert, and rejuvenated. They’d had fifteen minutes to catch their breath, for their bodies to rest. Their brains had also rested. Plus, they’d had a peptalk during halftime refocusing their minds and encouraging their hearts. These athletes came back on the field with new life. Similar to the three second pause when one of your Pac-Men dies, allowing the game to reset and a brand new Pac-Man with a new life to appear so you can try again.
A new half. A new yellow guy in your video game. New life. It changes everything.
Jesus is all about new life. We see this in His own life. Jesus was brutally executed on the cross. A guard made sure our Savior was 100% dead, not a breath left in Him. He was wrapped in burial clothes, buried in a tomb sealed shut with an enormous rock. And then? Three days later His glorious, resurrected self rose from the dead. He ate and talked and appeared to over 500 of His followers (1 Corinthians 15:6)! Jesus’ new life didn’t just change everything for Him personally, it changed everything for me and you, too. He overcame death and sin for all of us. He rescued us, renewed us, and redeemed us.
Which yes, means that when our human bodies die, we are resurrected and get to spend eternity with Jesus in heaven. Hallelujah!
But also . . . it means that you and I today? God is giving us new life.
I’ve seen it in my own life so many times. Jesus pulling me out of a rut or a bad relationship or trauma and growing and healing and renewing me. Jesus has restored broken, damaged, hurt, lonely, shameful, and discouraged parts of my story. He’s given me new ideas and opportunities, new healthier relationships, new tools to thrive, and a new glorious identity as His beloved daughter.
And it’s not just me. We see it in woman after woman in the Bible. Hagar was a slave forced to have sex with Abraham. When she got pregnant, she was so harshly treated she fled to the wilderness, alone and surely thinking she would die. But God gave her new life. He found Hagar, truly saw her, and spoke to her. God gave her a plan and promised her not just this baby in her stomach, but countless descendants, which equaled value and worth in her culture.
Naomi’s husband and sons all died. She was emotionally devastated but also left without a home or any kind of provision. Naomi was so distraught she changed her name to Mara, which means bitter. But God took Naomi from her bitterness to sweetness, giving her a new family, new home, and new life (Ruth 4:15). This didn’t undo the loss and grief Naomi experienced, but it renewed her hope and her joy.
Mary Magdalene was possessed by seven demons (Luke 8:2). And then Jesus came into her life, healed her, and invited her to follow Him, to do life with Him. It changed everything for her.
What Jesus did for those women in the Bible, what He did for me, He’ll do for you—offer you new life. And it’s infinitely better than any half time break, new Pac-Man, or coach’s pep talk. Jesus will find you, hear your cries, speak to you, and comfort you. He’ll open up options and opportunities. He’ll destroy evil and flood you with love. He’ll take you from bitter to sweet. Because that’s who He is. A Resurrection God. A God of new life. He takes our mentally and physically and spiritually exhausted selves and refuels and replenishes us. He rescues and redeems us. This has always been His way. And it always will be. New life in Jesus abounds. Ready to come back on the field rejuvenated? I hear the sirens. We can do it, because Jesus is with us—let’s go!
BIO: Laura L. Smith is an author, speaker, and podcaster passionate about tearing down lies so we can live in Christ’s truth. She’s written fifteen books including Brave Woman, Mighty God and The Urgency of Slowing Down. Smith lives in the charming college town of Oxford, Ohio with her husband and the youngest of their four young adult kids. There you’ll find her running the wooded trails, strolling the local farmers’ market, or teaching a Bible study. Find her at www.laurasmithauthor.com and @laurasmithauthor on Instagram.
2 Responses
Thank you so much for this God Hears Her, New Life. It has also reassured me of the need to just ask God to Slow Gloria Down, at times when I’m in need. Also, I have a colleague who sends devotionals daily and after had read that earlier. My God, your article, and her devotional has really opened my eyes to what I need God to do for me. I have retained a position within the missionary ministry of our church. I find myself in a frenzy from Monday to Monday. We have begun again Feeding the Homeless on Mondays in the A.M. It seems as though, I find myself in a frantic mode because at midweek, I’m already looking to the Mondays Feedings. My reading of your article and my colleague’s devotional is what I needed of God. “Slow Gloria, Down.”
Thank you so very much for that reminder. We can get so tired and bogged down with the ways and cares of this world that we can sometimes miss what is most important through it all. Jesus is with us, right here besides us. If we cast our cares on him, God will move and move us out of any situation.