Something New
No eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor mind conceived the fullness of the power of God and the extravagant plans He has prepared for those who love Him.
“The Lord said to Moses, “Speak to the Israelites and get twelve staffs from them, one from the leader of each of their ancestral tribes. Write the name of each man on his staff. Place them in the tent of meeting in front of the ark of the covenant law, where I meet with you. The staff belonging to the man I choose will sprout, and I will rid myself of this constant grumbling against you by the Israelites...Moses placed the staffs before the Lord in the tent of the covenant law. The next day Moses entered the tent and saw that Aaron’s staff...had not only sprouted but had budded, blossomed and produced almonds.”
Numbers 17:1-2, 4-5, 7-8
Do you ever put yourself in someone else's shoes and imagine what life is like for them? Often our own experiences or ambitions dominate our thinking. Consider putting yourself in Moses' and Aaron's shoes. These men had come a long way from the day God spoke to them at the burning bush. God used them to free the people, cross the Jordan on dry ground, and travel through the wilderness. Yet, with all they had done, all they had sacrificed, and how they served others; people were still complaining about them. Should they not have been frustrated and upset? Should they not have wondered why God would allow them to be treated this way?
Moses did not take offense. Instead, he took God's advice and trusted in His plan. If Moses were trying to convince the people to follow, he likely would have prepared a speech. Instead, he let God take the lead and God performed a miraculous sign. Can you even imagine an almond producing branch coming from a staff? God is always doing something new that points to His creative power.
“Praise the Lord, all you servants of the Lord who minister by night in the house of the Lord. Lift up your hands in the sanctuary and praise the Lord. May the Lord bless you from Zion, he who is the Maker of heaven and earth.”
Psalms 134:1-3
One of the aspects of God that David praises is Maker. What does it mean to you that God made all things. Do you ever think about how creative and incredible God is? Have you ever looked at a beautiful sunset over a mountain, ocean, or forest and stood in awe? Have you looked up to the heavens and looking at the planets and stars on a clear night and considered the works of His hand? Have you looked at pictures of all the animals, plants, and life on the planet and spent time on the uniqueness of all His creation? When David praises God as Maker, he is singing about so much more than just one who functionally made something. He is celebrating the artistic, awe-inspiring, wonderfully incredible life giving Creator of all things.
Do you think God's dwelling place in heaven is worse than earth? Imagine what heaven must be like? Would it not calm our fear of death if we embraced the truth that the Maker of the heavens and earth has prepared a place for us for all eternity that is exponentially better than where we are now? The bible promises there will be a new earth some day because God is the Maker is making all things new.
“What do people gain from all their labors at which they toil under the sun? Generations come and generations go, but the earth remains forever. The sun rises and the sun sets, and hurries back to where it rises. What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun."
Ecclesiastes 1:3-5, 9, 17-18
Solomon struggled with the repetition, redundancy, and routines of life. When he talks about nothing new under the sun, he appears to be speaking in human terms. Isn't he right when it comes to human behavior and life cycles? This mindset could be pretty depressing and uninspiring, but it is meant to awaken us from the common mindset that pervades culture. So many people live for the desires of physical life that ends rather than the spiritual life that endures forever. Our time on earth is limited as will be our legacy. Does anyone remember their great, great, great grandparents names and story?
If we broaden our perspective and look at life from a divine perspective then we can see the new. Each day is new, just as God's mercies are new. If you look deeper into the words Solomon wrote, the invitation is to look beyond what is below the sun. Science has documented the expansion of the universe and the multitude of galaxies in the heavens. While nothing may be new under the sun in terms of humanities tendencies, there is always something new happening by the hand of God. Proverbs says the awe, wonder, and fear of God is the beginning of wisdom. How could bringing a heavenly mindset, the kingdom coming to earth, bringing heaven to earth, radically transform the routine patterns of your life?
“This is what the Lord says: That is what you are saying, you leaders in Israel, but I know what is going through your mind. You fear the sword, and the sword is what I will bring against you, declares the Sovereign Lord. And you will know that I am the Lord, for you have not followed my decrees or kept my laws but have conformed to the standards of the nations around you...I will gather you from the nations and bring you back...I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh. Then they will follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. They will be my people, and I will be their God.”
Ezekiel 11:2, 5, 8, 12, 17, 19-21
God declares that He will do something new. While the people were far from Him. While they were still sinners. While they were in their rebellion and experiencing the pain of the choices. At their furthest point, and at ours, He is doing something new. What does the text say?
He makes a promise to give us an undivided heart and a new spirit. He does this to bring us back home. It is not to the same home we have known, rather He brings us to new life with the resurrected Christ living in us. Do you feel close to God or far away? There is always something more that He has for you and something newer and better as devote our lives to Him.
“For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. I came to you in weakness with great fear and trembling. My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power. However, as it is written: “What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived”— the things God has prepared for those who love him— these are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us.”
1 Corinthians 2:2-5, 9-10, 12
Jesus through His resurrection, Christ crucified, is making all things new. He said that it is better that He leaves because we will be given the gift of the Holy Spirit. This new spirit is not the same spirit that we have had since we were born into the planet that Solomon described as redundant. The spirit of the world says you need to be afraid. The spirit of the world says you need to worry about tomorrow. The spirit of the world says you do not have enough nor are you good enough.
The Spirit of God, the Holy Spirit, says you cannot even imagine based on what you have seen and known the abundance and inheritance I have for you. God declares that you will see new signs and wonders that point to His power and His presence. The same God who turned a staff into an almond tree gave life all people through a man who was hung on a tree to die. What else should we preach but Christ crucified? If Jesus could over come death on a cross, what could He not do for you at your point of need? Today is a day to believe boldly. Today is a day to take a step of faith and see beyond the sun. Today is a day to let go of the old and grab hold of the new. Today is a day to let the Maker of all things, the one who made you perfectly, give you new heart, a new spirit, and new eyes to see the unimaginably good things that He has planned for you.