Clean Slate: When God Gives You a Burden That Won’t Let Go
If you ever looked at a chalkboard after it’s been erased, you’ve seen it. The main writing is gone, but the edges still have those chalk smudges. It’s not perfectly clean. It’s clean enough to start again, but the reminders are still there.
That’s how many of us walk into a new year.
We want a fresh start, but we still carry the smudges. Regrets. Disappointments. Things we wish went differently. Conversations we wish we could redo. Choices we wish we could take back.
In Nehemiah 1, we meet a man who needed a clean slate too, not just for himself, but for a whole city.
Nehemiah is living far from Jerusalem. He has a respected position, a stable job, and a safe life. Then he hears news from home. Jerusalem is broken. The walls are down. The gates are burned. The people are living in shame.
And Nehemiah’s reaction tells us something important.
He does not shrug it off. He does not say, “That’s too bad,” and return to business as usual. The Bible says he sat down and wept, mourned, fasted, and prayed (Nehemiah 1:4). It hit him in the gut.
That’s what a burden feels like.
A burden is when God places something on your heart that you cannot ignore. It is not hype. It is not personality. It is not being loud. It is a holy heaviness that moves you toward God and moves you toward people.
And here is the part we miss. Nehemiah did not start by rebuilding walls. He started by praying.
He confessed sin. He remembered God’s promises. He asked God for mercy. Before he ever moved his feet, he let God shape his heart.
If you want a clean slate in 2026, start there.
Not with a perfect plan, but with prayer.
Not with willpower, but with surrender.
Not with trying to prove something, but with letting God work in you (Philippians 2:13).
Here’s a simple question to sit with at the start of this year.
What is breaking your heart right now?
Sometimes the very thing that hurts you is the doorway into what God is calling you to care about. Nehemiah’s burden became his calling. God used one man’s tears to begin rebuilding a city.
God still does that.
A clean slate is not pretending the past never happened. A clean slate is believing God is not finished. He can restore what is broken, rebuild what is torn down, and send His people into the world with love, courage, and compassion.
And if you are wondering where to begin, begin with the simple prayer I pray all the time.
God, help me.
He hears it. He answers it. He is faithful.
Scripture: Nehemiah 1:1–11, Philippians 2:13