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The first step towards getting somewhere is to decide you’re not going to stay where you are.

J. P. Morgan

We all need a fresh start sometimes. Whether you’re starting a new school, new relationship, new job, or new stage in life, sometimes we need to press the Reset button.

With God, new opportunities aren’t just about starting over, but growing and becoming someone better.

Spiritually, our faith sometimes fails during these hard transitions… and we need to rebuild a new relationship with God. Our current relationship with God may be broken and unsustainable for your current life. Has your faith become shipwrecked? If your faith is shrining under the weight of your transition, then it’s time to start fresh.

18 Timothy, my son, here are my instructions for you, based on the prophetic words spoken about you earlier. May they help you fight well in the Lord’s battles. 19 Cling to your faith in Christ, and keep your conscience clear. For some people have deliberately violated their consciences; as a result, their faith has been shipwrecked.

1 Timothy 1:18-19

So how does our faith get shipwrecked? The shipwreck comes through continual compromise and crossed boundaries. These don’t always feel like huge compromises either. Little by little, we make conscious decisions to compromise just for the sake of comfort, pleasure, or self-advancement.

If you’re a student, this could be anywhere from flirting with a classmate, to having one too many beers at party, to living a double life where you act like a completely different person at home, church, and school.

Do I have shipwrecked faith?

What lines have you crossed? If you asked one of your closest spiritual friends, what lines would they say that you’ve crossed?

If your faith is shipwrecked, it’s time to start over. The ship is our faith, and once it’s crashed… it’s time to rebuild. New faith and a new relationship with God. That’s the foundation to build on so you can set sail and move forward to where God’s taking you.

A new faith starts with resetting the standard that you live by.

And Samuel told him, “Although you may think little of yourself, are you not the leader of the tribes of Israel? The Lord has anointed you king of Israel.

1 Samuel 15:17

When our faith is shipwrecked, we can start to feel very small. We feel confused, we start to feel like an outsider among our friend, and we lose sight of our role. We become happy with mediocrity. Have you found yourself just attending church, instead of being an active member and making an impact? God calls us all to lead in some way: to be a leader in our classroom, leader in our work space, a leader everywhere.

Reflection questions

  • Who is God calling you to become?
  • What spiritual standards do you need to set for yourself moving forward?
  • What steps will you take to rebuild your relationship with God?

Written by

Bay Area Christian Church

This was created by a member of the Bay Area Christian Church team.