Newness of Hope
With this time of keeping inside our homes, I’ve found myself in my backyard earlier in the year than usual. This has afforded me the privilege of watching the ground around me awaken…bringing forth new life…and covering up the once barren ground with fruitfulness. As I was removing the fallen leaves and remainders of last season’s plants in one of my beds, I discovered tiny, green sprouts of ground cover poking through the soil, and I heard the Lord clearly say to me,
“Even though you feel that your world is holding its breath and in a perpetual holding pattern, MY WORLD is still moving forward…the laws I have set in place, the promises I have bestowed, the words that I have spoken…they have not ceased – they are still in motion.”
For some of us, it feels like we have been surrounded by barren ground for so long that the idea that anything good or fruitful could come from such a place of desolation seems impossible.
For others, we are simply trying to return to the last thing we heard God say before The Great Pause, and begin there…
Or maybe you find yourself longing for NEW direction…you desire that fresh start…but where do you even begin?
The truth is, we will never be the same after this pandemic. The trauma we have endured as humanity will leave an indelible mark on our hearts and minds that simply cannot be undone.
But… God has never changed course. He has never changed who He is and how He operates. His goodness, His mercy, and His faithfulness are still the same – yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8)
Hope
1: to desire with expectation of obtainment or fulfillment
2: to expect with confidence
We, as Believers, have the privilege of hope – to have a joyful expectation of God’s goodness towards us. This gives us PERMISSION to hope in the new. This gives us permission to begin to look around and see what God has in store for us, with a joyful expectation of His goodness overtaking us in the midst of our pursuit of Him.
Isaiah 43:19a – Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?
Part of this new, requires a releasing of the old. Everything from the way you buy your groceries, to the way you interact with the neighbors around you – things have to change.
Luke 5:36 – And He was also telling them a parable: “No one tears a piece of cloth from a new garment and puts it on an old garment; otherwise he will both tear the new, and the piece from the new will not match the old.”
We are gearing up to re-enter our world, but the world that we are re-entering is no longer the one we left. We must be willing to chase after Him into the NEW thing… open hands and open hearts, willing to see the beauty in the NEW and not try to return to the things that have passed away. Just as I saw new life springing forth in my gardens, I have to remember that in order for new life to occur, last year’s life – had to die. Just as the trees released their leaves, the bulbs withered and withdrew, and the flowers faded, we have to allow some aspects of our lives that no longer serve us in this new season to be left behind.
You were made for the new, Beloved. You were designed in the image of God – a forever moving God – a magnificent God who is constantly in the business of NEW life and NEW seasons of HOPE.
Sometimes the NEW can seem daunting…too much…too far removed from what is familiar, but I am reminded of how God is always moving forward – always doing A NEW THING, and He’s not going to wait on me to catch up. (wink)
I see Him before you and me…running, and every minute or so, He looks over His shoulder, checks to see that we are still close behind, smiles His most encouraging smile – and…
Keeps. On. Running.
THINK ABOUT IT
What are some ways that you have seen God moving you forward in this season? What are some NEW aspects of God’s character that He has revealed to you in this time of stillness? What are some things that you know that you must allow to die, in order to step into this season of NEW?
ACTION STEP
Take a moment to be silent before the Lord. Then, listen to this song:
Ask Him to speak to you about the things that must “pass away” in order for “all things to be made new.” (2 Cor 5:17) Take your hands and turn them upward, in a sign of surrender, and allow the Lord to take those things from you…visualizing your release. Then, hold your hands out to God to fill them with the NEW wine.
He’s not stopped moving, Beloved. He is doing something NEW and BEAUTIFUL and His promises are still the same to you! You get to continue to run the race set before you, knowing that He has marked the path ahead of you with His own presence, and all you have to do is keep your eyes on Him – and RUN.
~Karis
