Scripture tells us, Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things have passed away; behold, new things have come (2 Corinthians 5:17, NASB), and That which has been is that which will be. And that which has been done is that which will be done. So there is nothing new under the sun (Ecclesiastes 1:9, NASB). So which is it? Have all things become new, or is there nothing new under the sun? The reality is BOTH. ~ Robert Dees, MGEN, U.S. Army (Ret.) My Liberty University colleague, fellow veteran and friend, Major General Robert Dees, offers us encouragement for the new year. While we face old and long-standing troubles in this worn and weary world, we have the opportunity within ourselves to become new creatures, and thereby bring a new perspective to the troubles we face. When the Lord says to Isaiah before his people enter into hundreds of years of occupation and exile, See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland (Isaiah 43:19), and when the writers of the Book of Lamentations, even as they mourn the destruction of Jerusalem, declare, Because of the LORDs great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness (Lamentations 3:22-23), they are in the midst of dark times for the nation of Israel. Even so, they are reminded that the Lord is constantly at work, doing new things and reminding us His mercies are new every morning. Moreover, before He told Isaiah that He is doing a new thing, He also told him to Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past (Isaiah 43:18). Every day we awaken and draw breath, He implores us to leave the past in the past and make things new today, and he gives us the grace to do both. Jesus said, No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God (Luke 9:62). He knew this illustration would be meaningful to the agrarian society of ancient Israel, because everyone then knew that, to plow a straight furrow, you must keep your eyes fixed on your destination and not look back. If we are to persevere as a nation - if we are to be resilient, as Gen. Dees would say - we must learn to live in the present, glean from but not dwell in the past, and always keep our eyes fixed on our destination. That is my prayer for 2015, and my hope for each of you.
Posted on: Wed, 07 Jan 2015 03:20:44 +0000
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