All Things New

Have you ever wanted to hit the “reset” button for your life? Have you ever made a decision that you wish you could take back and redo? Are you currently in a circumstance that you wish you could just stop and rewind and do-over? I cannot imagine that there is not one person out there that has not wished for one of these. What is it about these situations that make us want to do-over? Many have resulted in hardship, pain and/or sadness. Trying to deal with the wrong decisions that we have made can leave us exhausted, feeling used up, spent and ready to give up.

As I sit and write this now, I think back to decisions that I have made that wasted much of my life. I wish I could go back and re-do many of them so that I could get on the right path sooner than I did. When I was married and my kids were little, I use to sit and watch soap operas from the time they would start, one after another until late in the afternoon, every day. All of those years gone, I cannot get that time back. All of that precious time I could have been enjoying my love for writing and the written word. I could have been delving into studying the scriptures or developing lasting friendships with people around me. I could have been more intentional with my kids. This is a regret that often comes to my mind and breaks my heart over the time I let slip through my fingers. It has taken me years to finally get to this point in my life where I have recognized the fact that I was gifted with this passion for writing, realizing that I would rather be sitting at my computer creating or reading a great book than sitting mindlessly watching fictional characters make a mess out of their own lives. If I could just go back and re-start that chapter over again, choosing to give wings to this passion of mine back then, where might I be today? What adventures might I have already experienced by being obedient to the gifts God had given me? Whereas this decision that I made years ago has caused me much sadness and difficulty as I endured the guilt over time, many people have made decisions that have caused pain not only for themselves but for others as well. Perhaps a trusted relationship has been forever broken because of this decision, or perhaps financial ruin has come due to a wrong decision made and now your family is suffering. Maybe you decided to go along with someone else in committing a crime and now you find yourself in prison. Maybe through no fault of your own, your life is being devastated by the coronavirus we are currently struggling with. Whatever it is, I want you to know that there is a way to experience a reversal of all of the pain these decisions have caused.

J.R.R. Tolkein once said, “When your weary bones, tired feet, and broken heart feel like giving up, remember that God is – at this very minute – preparing for your future with Him, where He will make all things new, and everything sad comes untrue.” I love the thought of many bad decisions and hard circumstances being made untrue! How is it that we can enjoy this reversal in life? Only by placing your faith in Jesus Christ will you be able to see all these things made new. Jesus tells us in Revelation 21: 4-5 that “He (Jesus) will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away. And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” “Also, he (Jesus) said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” Oh, what a day it will be when Christ ushers in this new age! The consequences of your decisions my continue for a time on this earth, but oh, how I look forward to the day when it is no more! Can you envision it? God has already hit the “reset” button for our life, but you have to acknowledge it and accept it to experience it. What are you waiting for?