Have you ever messed up your smartphone or computer so badly by adding or subtracting things that it couldn’t be fixed?
When you do, it’s time for something called factory reset. The world is full of “better ideas.” They are not necessarily bad things, but sometimes they can get us into trouble.
For instance, you get a new computer. For a while, everything is fine. Then you want things to go a little faster. So instead of looking at the owner’s manual first, you go hunting for a quick fix. You download an app that’s guaranteed to fix it. You delete programs that you think might not be necessary and so on and so on. Before long, you’ve got a real mess and it’s worse now than before.
So what you have to do is go back to the beginning. You press that little button that says “Factory Reset” or “Default Settings.” Amazingly, all that junk that you created disappears and your device is like it was when it was brand-new. Lesson learned, maybe.
What we have to remember is that all this technology is still an extension of the human intellect which is a gift from our Creator. We really can't create anything. We can only rearrange things that were already created. As scripture states, “There is nothing new under the sun.” There is a lot of talk about artificial intelligence, which, in fact, does not exist. Devices can only do what they are programmed to do.
So it is with life. We are created with a purpose. G-d doesn’t make mistakes. We go wrong when we look other places than the owner’s manual, the Bible, for answers. We add habits which ruin our spiritual, mental, and physical health. We don’t utilize the G-d-given talents that we’re blessed with and end up at the end of our rope.
But don’t despair. There is help. A gifted songwriter penned the words, “His strength is found at the end of our rope.” In Yeshua our Messiah, we get a factory reset. We are new creatures in Him. Hallelujah! One day He will do the ultimate factory reset when the heavens and the earth will be made new and all sin will be forever banished.
But until then, we have to learn from our mistakes. Go to the owner’s manual first. It will save us a lot of grief. Until next time, Shalom.
Picture originally found here
