PAUSING
We take a few seconds or minutes to pause and be still; to breathe slowly, and to re-center any scattered thoughts or desires onto the presence of God.
PRAYING
Holy Spirit, You make all things new. Awake my heart to dream new dreams in this new year. I set aside any baggage or worries I have been carrying, releasing my burdens, and finding rest and home in Your presence. I breathe in Your pursuing love towards me.
ENCOUNTERING HIS WORD
"And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, 'Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.'
He who was seated on the throne said, 'I am making everything new!' Then he said, 'Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.'
He said to me: 'It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life.'" - Revelation 21:3-5 (NIV)
N.D. Wilson writes, 'and to an infinite artist, a Creator in love with His craft, there is no unimportant corner, there is no thrown-away image, no tattered thread in the novel left untied.'
What an amazing promise we are given in the Word of God! One day, we will be at home, with God, forever. I love this powerful image of home. When we're home, we're safe. Our nervous systems become at ease. We melt onto our sofas and wear our stretchy pants. Home is the perfect image of what it feels like when everything is the way as it should be. Which is why this promise from God is so powerful for us. Here in our lifetime, try as we might, we won't ever truly be, "at home". We're more in some middle place where tears and death reside, and everything isn't really yet the way it's supposed to be. Mourning and crying abound, unfulfilled dreams and loose ends are the norm...life can be painful.
But one day,
God promises that He will wipe every tear away from our eyes.
One day,
God promises that death's power will be finally undone.
The Christian life is a journey of waiting but nothing is wasted. God will honor and use every detail of our unfinished stories until one day he indeed finishes them.
REFLECTING AND PRAYING
C.S. Lewis, in Mere Christianity wrote:
Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on: you knew those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But presently he starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make sense. What on earth is He up to? The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of - throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were going to be made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it Himself.
GODS PROMISE
"Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am." - John 14:1-3
We take a few seconds or minutes to pause and be still; to breathe slowly, and to re-center any scattered thoughts or desires onto the presence of God.
PRAYING
Holy Spirit, You make all things new. Awake my heart to dream new dreams in this new year. I set aside any baggage or worries I have been carrying, releasing my burdens, and finding rest and home in Your presence. I breathe in Your pursuing love towards me.
ENCOUNTERING HIS WORD
"And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, 'Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.'
He who was seated on the throne said, 'I am making everything new!' Then he said, 'Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.'
He said to me: 'It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life.'" - Revelation 21:3-5 (NIV)
N.D. Wilson writes, 'and to an infinite artist, a Creator in love with His craft, there is no unimportant corner, there is no thrown-away image, no tattered thread in the novel left untied.'
What an amazing promise we are given in the Word of God! One day, we will be at home, with God, forever. I love this powerful image of home. When we're home, we're safe. Our nervous systems become at ease. We melt onto our sofas and wear our stretchy pants. Home is the perfect image of what it feels like when everything is the way as it should be. Which is why this promise from God is so powerful for us. Here in our lifetime, try as we might, we won't ever truly be, "at home". We're more in some middle place where tears and death reside, and everything isn't really yet the way it's supposed to be. Mourning and crying abound, unfulfilled dreams and loose ends are the norm...life can be painful.
But one day,
God promises that He will wipe every tear away from our eyes.
One day,
God promises that death's power will be finally undone.
The Christian life is a journey of waiting but nothing is wasted. God will honor and use every detail of our unfinished stories until one day he indeed finishes them.
C.S. Lewis, in Mere Christianity wrote:
Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on: you knew those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But presently he starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make sense. What on earth is He up to? The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of - throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were going to be made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it Himself.
- Pray with a spirit of surrendering your whole life and heart to God again today.
- Rejoice in God's tenderness today and imagine what it might look like for you to live this day to the full.
- Creatively imagine what it might look like for you to be an encouragement to someone you love who might be in a dry season.
Ask Jesus to help you give yourself away to others.
GODS PROMISE
"Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am." - John 14:1-3