New: New Life, New People, New Song, New CreationSample

NEW SONG

It’s been a long and weary year, hasn't it? 

How does a follower of Jesus keep going during a long and weary season like this one? What do they do when it feels like joy has been sucked right out of their souls, when they have a sense of despair, and when there’s no clear end in sight?

First, they remember. They remember all the good things that God has done for them in the past. They go over them in their mind. They enjoy them in their heart. They speak about them with others. The act of remembering is crucial to making it through the long and weary days that are a regular part of earthly life.

Second, they wait patiently, which might feel like the hardest thing in the world. Especially when the waiting drags on and on and on and on and on. The thing about waiting patiently for God is that he promises to show up. It may not be in the way or at the time that we imagined, but he promises that he is always with us and that nothing can separate us from his love.

And third, they praise God with a new song — not the kind of song they have to write or compose or search for or download. The Bible says that those who trust in God and who wait patiently for him will be given a new song by God. This means they will have a new attitude, a new perspective on life, and a new response to God.

Right now, many of the “songs” (or messages or attitudes) filling the world feel worn out, tired, old, unkind, hateful, out of tune, unlovely, prideful, selfish, angry, and somehow all wrong. Those “songs” are often the easiest ones to join. And they're usually the loudest.

But, if you will stop and listen to God’s voice, and if you will close your ears to the world’s “songs,” and if you will remember the goodness and faithfulness of God, you will receive a new song, a new sense of wonder, a new sense of joy, and a new sense of thanks. When you “sing” that new song, others around you will hear it too. Your “new song” could be one way God brings hope to another person. 

“He has given me a new song to sing, a hymn of praise to our God!”

REFLECTION

What has been difficult for you during the past year? How have you leaned on God?

What is something God is showing you or teaching you about himself? About yourself? About life with him?

When you’re in a difficult season, what are some of the things you can and should remember about God?