“For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; And the former shall not be remembered or come to mind. But be glad and rejoice forever in what I create; For behold, I create Jerusalem as a rejoicing, And her people a joy” (Isaiah 65:17-18).
Our Gracious Heavenly Father, Your promises bring us joy! In this world, we do not live in a state of continuous joy and rejoicing, even though that has always been Your plan for our lives. We have strayed from Your side, and the result has been sorrow and sighing. But we praise you, because the new heavens and new earth that You are creating, will bring back the song of gladness, and the dirge will no longer be heard, or remembered! For this and so much more, we give You thanks, in the blessed name of Your Son, and our Savior, Jesus the Christ. Amen.
We will continue with this theme for a few days. I believe it is time for us to become familiar with the things that God has planned for us, when this life of sadness is over. When we realize that our choices have us living in accordance with the plans of “the one who comes only to destroy us and to kill” (John 10:10a), hopefully, we will give greater thought to our decision-making.
In the beginning, God made everything “very good.” In my understanding, a very good from God, as one commentator said, is the equivalent of, “this works!” I had a friend who would always say to me, “Mabel, if it works, why ‘fix it!‘ ” Good oxymoronic question!
But we have listened to the voice of the one, who is a “liar and murderer” (John 8:44), for so long, that, only as we draw nearer to God, and listen to His voice, and once again, become acquainted with the Truth, will we be able to resist wrong, and make the right choices.
Notice how the conjunction “but” joins God’s future plans for His people with the present: [“I am creating a better place, for you, but for now,] “be glad and rejoice forever in what I create;
For behold, I create Jerusalem as a rejoicing, And her people a joy.”
“While I am creating a new heaven and a new earth, even now, begin to enjoy what I already made for your rejoicing, in what I have done for you. In the here and now I will restore your joy and make you rejoice!”
“Heaven can begin right now, because the plans I have for you are for your good! I came that you might have life in “abundance,” even when all around you there is scarcity! While you wait for a new heaven and a new earth, live in an atmosphere of heavenly peace and joy!”
This is God’s plan for us on this side of eternity. His tomorrow will usher in the new heaven and new earth. Until then, let us live now, with heaven, not only in our view, but also in our hearts!