Thankful: God makes all things new

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea no longer existed. I also saw the Holy City, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared like a bride adorned for her husband.

Then I heard a loud voice from the throne:
Look! God’s dwelling is with humanity, and He will live with them.
They will be His people,
and God Himself will be with them and be their God.
He will wipe away every tear from their eyes.
Death will no longer exist;
grief, crying, and pain will exist no longer,
because the previous things have passed away.

Then the One seated on the throne said, “Look! I am making everything new.”

– Revelation 21:1-5a

Today, I am thankful that God makes all things new.

There will be a day when all that we have suffered, all the mistakes and failures, every hurt we’ve endured and inflicted, all the tears and grief, and all the destruction and sin around us will pass away. God will recreate what is worn out, torn, broken and stained. He will right every wrong. He will heal every wound. God will come and establish His Kingdom in a new heaven and new earth. He will reign supreme, over all and for always.

God will live with us. We will be His people, and He will be our God. He will personally take our faces in His hands, and lovingly wipe away every tear. Death will not exist – it has been defeated and banished! Grief, crying and pain will not be found. Our old lives of sin will be finished—gone.

We will be made new.

God speaks through Isaiah, “Look, I am about to do something new; even now it is coming. Do you not see it? Indeed, I will make a way in the wilderness, rivers in the desert.” (Isaiah 43:19)

Just as God will restore Israel one day, He longs to reconcile our hearts now. He sees our brokenness. He knows we are weary of trying to do life on our own. He feels our pain and wants to fill our emptiness. He stands ready, with arms outstretched, offering us the forgiveness and freedom we crave.

Will we let Him hold us? Will we give in and accept His embrace?

When we submit to God, and trust Him for salvation, He will remake us.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.

– 2 Corinthians 5:17