Life’s Cycle - What Part Are You In?

How does life cycle? Everything seems to cycle—fashions, weather, seasons, even the rising and setting of the sun.

OUR PERSONAL CYCLE

And if we are honest, we cycle with God too. We get close to Him, experience His goodness, then slowly drift away. Eventually, we find ourselves needing Him again, and He is still there, waiting for us to return.

The Bible tells this story over and over. God rescues, people wander, consequences come, and then God restores. I read this in Isaiah: “The LORD will show mercy to the people of Jacob, and he will again choose the people of Israel. He will settle them in their own land. Then non-Israelite people will join the Israelites and will become a part of the family of Jacob.” (Isaiah 14:1 NCV)

The people wandered. They were conquered, removed from their land, and eventually taken into exile. But before any of that happened, God was already telling them that exile would not be the end of their story. As God does, He shows mercy. God disciplines, but He does not reject, and when His people finally cry out, He restores.

WHY DO WE CYCLE

Have you ever been restored before? Have you ever been rescued by God, gotten close to Him, and then wandered again? It is a cycle. It is just true. Sin, selfishness, lust, pride, and distraction pull us away, and before long we can find ourselves depending more on ourselves than on God.

But the Bible is not just one endless circle. It is moving somewhere. All of those cycles of lostness, rescue, judgment, mercy, and restoration are pointing toward Jesus Christ.

Jesus did not come merely to rescue us out of a bad situation. He came to bring the dead back to life. You and I are not simply messed up people who need a little improvement. Apart from Christ, we are spiritually dead. Jesus gives us a new heart, a new life, and a new direction. Yes, that may sound a little religious, but find yourself truly lost and salvation does not sound religious at all. It sounds necessary.

WHAT TO DO

Here is something I have noticed. If you have been close to God and then wandered, gotten distracted, started depending on yourself, let prayer slip, spent less time in Scripture, and allowed pride to creep in, eventually you will miss God. Something inside you starts to recognize what has been lost, and hopefully you turn back.

So where are you in the cycle today? Are you close to God, drifting, lost, crying out, or being restored? I say do not wait until life falls apart. God’s mercy is not wiggle room to wander. It is an invitation to come home.

And the good news is this: because of Jesus Christ, restoration is not just something God did for Israel thousands of years ago. It is something He still does today.

LORD, thank You for always being there. You are the lighthouse, always shining, always calling us home. Thank You a thousand times for Your mercy, Your patience, and for Jesus Christ, who gives us new life. IJNIP amen ♥️