All Things New

Of the many ways in which God reveals Himself in the Scriptures, He reveals Himself as a God of newness.  He shows Himself as delighting in renewing, restoring and creeating new things in the lives of those he loves and those who love Him.  So our God is a God of newness.  He is ready to bring us into new things that He has stored up for us at this season of our lives.  New revelation of who He is, new provision, new hope, and new passion for Him.  Everything about Him comes to us in terms of newness.  He says in Revelation 21:5, "Behold, I am making all things new. and He said, Write for these words are faithful and true."

It is therefore no wonder then that the Scriptures are full of admonitions to us not to dwell on the past; nto to take prolonged trips down memory lane; not to recall and beat ourselves up for what's already been done and cannot be undone or changed; not to linger on the experiences of the past that damaged and hurt us.  Those experiences are in His hands, and they are washed away through the blood of Messiah never to be remembered against us again.  And He who holds our present and future in His hands knows how to redeem our past without making us wallow in it.  It is these experiences that have everything to do with the "all tears" that God will wipe away from our eyes, as referred to in Revelation 21:4.  If you were to look at this verse it ends with the words, "...the first things have passed away."

While the direct context of the verse is speaking about eternity with God and this life of sin and fallenness coming to an end, it also has application to our lives as believers in the present time.  It lets us know that the bitter experiences of the past that we keep rehashing and keep rehearsing in our minds, keep beating ourselves up for and weeping over have passed away.  Let them go!  Stop resurrecting them in your mind.  Stop going through life staring into the rearview mirror.

God is making all things new for YOU!  He wants you to be aware of them, to perceive them (Isa. 43:14-21). So let the past go!  Get your eyes off the rearview mirror and get them back on the road ahead of you.  Focus on the new thing God is doing for you.  Embrace and receive it, for the truth is this: your best days are ahead of you, not behind you.  And that you can take to the bank because He's the One who said so!