The God of new beginnings
Uprooting, planting, and growing
Recently, my family moved to a new city far away from Kingston, a place we called home since 2011. We have begun to attend a new local church. My children have begun to attend a new Classical Christian School. We have started to make new friends, join a new Life Group, and explore a new neighbourhood. We are expecting twins sometime at the end of October. The DeBartolo family has been going through numerous changes. These changes represent several new beginnings.
There have been several new beginnings over the course of my life. When I was 21, I moved to a new city and began a full-time pastoral position at a new church. When I was 27, my relatively new wife and I moved to a new city and I began a full-time pastoral position at a new church. And now, at 39, my pregnant-with-twins wife and our 3 children have done what I have already mentioned above. Full disclosure – I hope this is the last uprooting for a while, if ever.
New beginnings bring with them varied and intense emotions, thoughts, and experiences. They can be, at the same time, exciting and terrifying, joyful and sad, worrisome and bittersweet, with lots of unknowns mixed with hope and confidence. As the Lord leads and directs us in our life’s path, we can be certain, regardless of our emotions, that He is very good and very much in sovereign control.
You’re not the first person to experience this
Ever since human beings were created, God has been taking people on new journeys to new places, leaving what was comfortable and familiar, to blaze a trail into what is uncomfortable and unknown. The Scriptures offer us a myriad of examples of men and women who followed the Lord to entirely new places, into entirely new circumstances, and to accomplish entirely new missions and purposes. God has not left us without a cloud of witnesses to inform us.
In Genesis 12:1 we read that, “The Lord said to Abram, ‘Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you.’” A new beginning, followed by a new name as well. In Genesis 17:5 the Lord told Abram, “No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham, for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations.”
After 400 years in slavery, plus another 40 years wandering in the desert, on top of a multitude of wars and battles, the Israelites finally entered the Promised Land, and they experienced rest. In Joshua 11:23 we read that, “Joshua took the whole land, according to all that the Lord had spoken to Moses. And Joshua gave it for an inheritance to Israel according to their tribal allotments. And the land had rest from war.”
Saul of Tarsus, on his way to becoming one of the most powerful and prominent members of the Jewish ruling class, was enjoying a life of fame and murdering Christians. That is, of course, until Jesus gave him a new heart, a new mission, and a new zeal and passion for serving God. In Acts 9:15-16 the Lord says, concerning Saul, “He is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.”
No variation or shadow due to change
Perhaps you are about to enter a new beginning. Perhaps you have just entered into one. I’m almost certain most of you either have or will experience one in your lifetime. It could be a new job, a marriage, children, a substantial relocation, or any number of circumstances. It’s easy to feel worried, uneasy, and disquieted in your soul when this happens. That’s why it is necessary for us to affirm what we know to be true – about God, about His Word, and about us.
God is always in control. All things happen under the providential superintendence of the lord Almighty. Chapter 5 of the 1689 Baptist Confession of Faith says this concerning divine providence:
“God the good Creator of all things, in His infinite power and wisdom does uphold, direct, dispose, and govern all creatures and things, from the greatest even to the least, by His most wise and holy providence, to the end for the which they were created, according unto His infallible foreknowledge, and the free and immutable counsel of His own will; to the praise of the glory of His wisdom, power, justice, infinite goodness, and mercy.”
Either you believe that or you don’t. If you don’t, in the midst of your new beginning, you believe that God is just as much along for the ride as you are. You believe that He is trying His best to work things out for you, but that He can’t just direct both your steps and the course of history for your good and His glory.
If you do believe in God’s sovereignty, then you and the Scriptures agree. Proverbs 16:9 and 33 say, “The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps… The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the Lord.” This actually gives me tremendous hope and security in the midst of stepping into what is new and unknown, because I know God is working all things according to His eternal decree, and that He will do all that He has purposed to do, for my good and for the praise of His glorious grace (Romans 8:28-30, 11:33-36; Ephesians 1:3-14.)
What’s my part in all of this?
If this is all true, and God is providentially directing all of history to accomplish His sovereign decree, then what’s my part in all of this, you may be asking. How should we think, speak, and act in the midst of a new beginning, knowing that, as R.C. Sproul was fond of saying, “There are no maverick molecules in the universe.”
1. Be in the Book
If you want to see God’s faithfulness over all of human history, turn to the Scriptures. If you want to see God reveal who He is and why He can be trusted, turn to the Scriptures. If you want to step boldly and courageously in whatever the Lord has for you, turn to the Scriptures. I cannot emphasize this enough. Neglect the living and active Word of God, and you will be overcome with fear, despair, anger, and all manner of sins.
2. Pray
Remain close to God in communion and conversation. Bring Him your requests, your anxieties, your frustrations, and your tears. Sometimes my kids just need to crawl into my lap, nestle their heads into my chest, and just talk about whatever. They know I am listening, and they know I care. “Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved” (Psalm 55:22). “Cast all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7).
3. Be with your (spiritual) family
Stay connected and committed to your local church, especially when there is upheaval or huge life transitions. God has given us one another, brothers and sisters in Christ, to help in shouldering each other’s burdens, to encourage each other, and to provide in our gatherings shelter from the spiritual battles we face every day in the world around us. I can tell you, without doubt or question, that the love and kindness we have received from our new church family as we have committed to real Christian fellowship, has proven to be an immeasurable blessing to my wife and children, which is an inexpressible sweetness to my heart and soul.
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord, and turn away from evil. It will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones.” – Proverbs 3:5-8