Then He who sat on the throne said, "Behold,
I make all things new."
(Revelation 21:5)
Spring is here --
and I'm glad! Spring is when the earth begins to
renew and replenish itself. To me Spring is an
every year reminder of the plan and purpose of
God, "I make all things new!"
I know that this
verse looks forward to a time when God will
reconcile all things to Himself in Jesus Christ,
but it also reveals something of what God is
about, what God is always working
toward.
For example,
Paul tells us that "if anyone is in Christ He is
a new creation; the old is gone, the new has
come" (2 Cor. 5:17).
When we come to
Jesus God renews His image in us that has been
tarnished by sin. He allows us to put away the
past in order to live for the future God sets
before us. We discover a new way of living, we
establish new priorities, we make new friends,
and we have new goals and ambitions.
It gets even
better! The God we serve "gives power to the
weak, and to those who have no might He
increases strength. Even the youths shall faint
and be weary, and the young men shall utterly
fall, but those who wait on the LORD shall renew
their strength; they shall mount up with wings
like eagles, they shall run and not be weary,
they shall walk and not faint" (Isaiah 40:29
31).
'Therefore
we do not lose heart'
There have been
times when the enemy has been successful in
spreading discouragement over my life and
ministry. There have been times when I just
didn't seem to have the energy to keep up the
good fight, to persevere in the path God had set
before me.
Each time, the declaration of God's Word came
and the Lord renewed my strength! He
"satisfie[d] my desires with good
things" so that my "youth [was] renewed
as the eagle's" (Psalm 103:5).
There also have
been times when aching joints and sore muscles
have joined the lines on my face to scream at me
that I'm too old to have grammar school
children, that I can't keep up the rigorous pace
they require, that I can't finish the
race.
But again I'm
reminded of God's word from the Apostle Paul:
"Therefore we do not lose heart. Though
outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we
are being renewed day by day" (2 Cor. 4:16). The
aches and pains dissolve in the utter joy that
Aaron and Bethany bring to my life!
I find that if
I'll just keep close to Him and hide His word in
my heart that He indeed makes all things new,
including me. I find that "I can do all things
through Christ who strengthens me" (Phil.
4:13).
The
joy of the Lord
The season we
call "Spring" comes and goes each year, but the
joy that comes through the renewal of life by
the power of God is something we can have and
enjoy through all the seasons of life -- and
through every difficulty and hardship we
encounter.
Joy is God's
renewable resource. Each day is a day the Lord
has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it.
Praise His Holy Name!
In all the
uncertainties of living in a fallen world there
are two things you can count on: God loves you
and so does the preacher.
See you in
church Sunday!
