The Epistles and Newness of Life
Realise
Know, that, in this situation, God is with you. God your saviour and your friend. Give your love to him and be aware that you are in his presence. God in love restores and refreshes you. You may like to use these words or some of them if your mind wanders from God:
Lord of life and light,
Open my eyes to your presence,
My heart to your love.
Let your light surround me,
Protect me, guide me.
Let your life fill me,
Refresh me, restore me,
That I may walk in newness of life
And know that I belong to you.
When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion,
we were like those who dream.
Then our mouth was filled with laughter,
and our tongue with shouts of joy;
then it was said among the nations,
‘The Lord has done great things for them.’
The Lord has done great things for us,
and we rejoiced.
Restore our fortunes, O Lord,
like the water courses in the Negeb.
May those who sow in tears
reap shouts of joy.
those who go out weeping
bearing the seed for sowing,
shall come home with shouts of joy,
Carrying their sheaves. (Psalm 126)
This is one of the ‘Songs of Ascent’ that is one of the psalms said by a pilgrim going up to Jerusalem. As you would expect it is a song of joy, of rejoicing in the Lord. For the Christian this is not only a rising psalm but a resurrection psalm. It begins with the Lord ‘restoring’. The word can mean delivering from captivity or restoring to health and well-being.
So often, when we feel we are held captive by doubt, despair, depression, when we are in the dark, it is hard to believe that restoration is possible. It is like a dream when renewal comes. Those who have been renewed, restored or have experienced a resurrection full of laughter. We need to strive for this laughter more than ever right now. True faith always brings joy within. We should not only rejoice in the Lord, we should show it in our lives. During these times that we find ourselves in, let us really try to feel the presence of God who is most definitely with us, walking by our side, we just need to open our minds and hearts to really feel it, we are never going to be alone.
God is here and at work now in the world and in your life. Sometimes it’s hard to believe that renewal and restoration are possible, but in God there are always possibilities of newness of life. He is God who makes all things new.
Seek to make space each day for God to have a chance to work in you and through you. Again, you need to invite him into this current situation, for he waits to be called upon to act in your life.
Let him pour out his presence into your life and into his world, be still and let his being fill you to overflowing.
Lord, in the stillness,
let me know your love for me
that I may be renewed,
that I may be restored,
that I may rejoice in you.
Lord, let me know you are with me
that I may abide in you
this day and always.
Amen