Factory Reset

One day the disciples of John the Baptist came to Jesus and asked Him, "Why don't Your disciples fast like we do and the Pharisees do?" Jesus replied, "Do wedding guests mourn while celebrating with the groom? Of course not. But someday the groom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast. (Matthew 9:14-15 NLT)

Today I decided to make a significant step forward with my "smart" phone.  You see, the phone had been acting up quite a bit lately.  Text messages aren't always coming through.  It would go into a "loop" where it looked like it was going to turn off but then it wouldn't.  To make things worse, it would do this constantly, overheating and wearing out the battery.

I would try to "reboot" the system.  (Smart phones, after all, are just computers, right?)  I know that's the first thing technicians would tell me to do.  When that didn't work, I started going through and removing excess data.  When that didn't work, I started removing "apps" that I suspected may be causing the problem.  Not of that helped my situation.

"Besides, who would patch old clothing with new cloth? For the new patch would shrink and rip away from the old cloth, leaving an even bigger tear than before. (Matthew 9:16 NLT)

So, I decided to do a "factory reset."  A factory reset is provided on many computing devices now because our computers (and computer phones) can get to the point that they are bogged down by all the fun stuff we tried to install since we got them.  Even if we uninstall a program, there's still junk left behind that slows down the system.  A factory reset erases EVERYTHING on the machine, then puts things back to the way it was when you first took it out of the box.  The computer is restored back to "factory settings."  You can start fresh.

"And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. For the old skins would burst from the pressure, spilling the wine and ruining the skins. New wine is stored in new wineskins so that both are preserved." (Matthew 9:17 NLT)

Now my phone appears to be working fine.  I went back to factory settings and I've only installed a couple apps - ones I know are important for me to use on a regular basis.  The rest of the stuff is all gone.  Now, hopefully, I can use my phone in the way God intends me to use it.

Sometimes it's a good thing to do a "factory reset" on my life, too.  Life can get busy and bloated with schedules and activities that have been added in over the years, but that I've never really succeeded in removing from my life.  A new year gives me a great time to do a factory reset and erase all that stuff.  Then I put things in my schedule that I know God wants me to do and my walk together with God improves.  Factory resets can be good.