This past Monday, I had to drop off a group of students at a retreat center not too far from my church.
As I was driving up Route. 140, which was already a critical road when Westminster, where I live and work, was founded in 1764, I spotted this sign.
How could it not catch my eye 🙂
Of course, I didn’t have my camera with me, so I was hoping the sign would still be up when I returned a few days later. Gratefully, it was, and I’m happy to share it with you!
When I chose Making All Things New as the theme of this blog a couple of years ago, I really didn’t know exactly where I was going to take it. Well, if you’re a faithful reader, you know we’ve been all over the map.
It seems to me our lives have gotten increasingly complicated, so I’ve felt it was important to touch on a lot of issues, so that just about everyone could relate to what I was trying to articulate. I hope that’s happened for you from time to time. 🙂
Seeing this sign was a gentle reminder to me of the importance of what I initially set out to do. I wanted to share my story about how, when faced with some pretty serious issues in my life, God intervened. All I had to do was to submit to Him. He would take care of the rest. And He did.
Months after I chose the theme of this blog, I was doing a little Biblical study on Isaiah 43:19 and Revelation 21:5, both of which speak about God making all things new. In my little study, I learned something that I had somehow missed before.
In this passages, God doesn’t say He’s going to make a new thing. No, instead He speaks of restoration. He’s going to make something new out of what He’s already created. Can you see the difference? I’ve been pondering this fact ever since I realized it, and just thinking about it gives me such hope. My heart’s desire is that it gives you that same hope too.
No matter where we are in life, no matter what we’ve done or not done, no matter if we have great faith or have just about no faith at all, God wants to make something new of us. As the sign above states, it’s not so much about us as it is about you.
As the sun is rising and burning off the haze just outside my window right now, I’m reminded that I once again have an opportunity to focus on the fact that I’ve got another chance to do things right today. Not just me, but you too. Take advantage of it! What could you do today that you failed to do yesterday? Who could you make amends with? Who in your life needs a helping hand, a gentle touch, a kind word?
Ask God to make something new of you today.
Behold, I am doing something new. Now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? In the desert, I make a way, in the wasteland, rivers. Isaiah 43:19
