Push the reset button
By CHERYL CRUCE
A hot September afternoon with high humidity caused me to leave work early and head home for a calm and relaxing evening. However, as I stepped through the front door, I discovered that the day’s heat had intruded upon my plans. I turned the thermostat down even though I realized the situation was doomed. We settled in for a long night of tossing and turning beneath ceiling fans and open windows.
The cool morning water was a welcomed invitation as I started the day. Also welcoming was the voice of the HVAC technician, who promised he would be there as soon as possible. A few moments after his arrival, there was a rush of air as well as the onset of a thermostat. He said he only needed to lift the cover and push the reset button, and with that, he walked away with more money in his pocket than I had in mine. Since then, I have learned that many items have a reset button.
Rich Quakenbush, my mentor of many years, had wanted to write a book titled “Push the Reset Button” after his retirement. Rich believed this proverbial button was inside man’s spirit, and a flip of the switch could change the direction of one’s destiny. During his ministry, he helped many people find the restart of life. He also helped me find my place of new beginnings.
My reset came in realizing God’s love is more significant than any insecurities I may have had. The standards of society and the words of others affected my self-belief, and I allowed doubt to rule my life. I could not understand how The Father of creation would be mindful of me. And yet, in all of His amazing grandeur, He is. This revelation of being loved by God did not come easy; it was a process that took time.
One day, I began recognizing the criticisms of this world for what they are – lies of the enemy. I started exchanging these lies for God’s vision over my life. If the world stated I was behind, I resolved in my spirit to be in the lead. If the world saw me beneath a situation, I saw myself on top of it (Deuteronomy 28:13). When I struggled in school or felt I did not measure up, I listened to God’s voice that stated, “I am more than an overcomer” (Romans 8:37). I began to understand God’s desire to prosper me and not to cause me harm (Jeremiah 29:11). My life took a dramatic turn for the better. I found the reset button. You have one too.
Saint Augustine said, “Faith is to believe what we do not see; the reward of this faith is to see what we believe.” When we learn to see ourselves through the eyes of the Father, we will understand the reward of grace. It is time we turn off the world’s voice and listen for the words of mercy. Self-doubt has no place in His creation, we are all fearfully and wonderfully made in His image (Psalm 139), and we are loved. We are a new creation in Christ Jesus; The brokenness of yesterday has passed away (2 Corinthians 5:17). Let us have the faith to lift the cover of this world and press the reset button of our lives. In doing so, we will change our destiny and become the people He created us to be.
Isaiah 43:18-19 “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
Cheryl Mixon-Cruce is Pastor of Ochlockonee Bay United Methodist Church and Sopchoppy United Methodist Church.