Advent: Dec. 02 // New Life is Coming

As an artist, much of my time is spent trying to think creatively. One doesn’t have to look far to be inspired by what God has designed — I’m constantly blown away by the depth of creativity that exists in creation. It boggles the mind to think of just one tiny example: God not only imagined delicate, frozen flakes of water that would fall from the sky and accumulate in white, fluffy mounds in the winter, but He made each microscopic pattern that constructs a snowflake completely unique.

Looking at the depth and breadth of creation, I am overwhelmed quickly by its magnitude. God’s beautiful, complex, and perfect design for creation was then handed over to man to oversee with just one simple instruction. As a flawed human, I can understand and relate to being misguided and giving in to temptation; but, because of that one act, so many hard and difficult things have entered our world. Pain, sickness and death all plague our lives in heavy ways and can make us feel hopeless.

When I read Revelation 21:1-7, I regain hope:

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea no longer existed. I also saw the Holy City, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared like a bride adorned for her husband.

Then I heard a loud voice from the throne:
Look! God’s dwelling is with humanity,
and He will live with them.
They will be His people,
and God Himself will be with them
and be their God.

He will wipe away every tear from their eyes.
Death will no longer exist;
grief, crying, and pain will exist no longer,
because the previous things have passed away.*

Then the One seated on the throne said, “Look! I am making everything new.” He also said, “Write, because these words are faithful and true.” And He said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give water as a gift to the thirsty from the spring of life. The victor will inherit these things, and I will be his God, and he will be My son.

The Creator became creature to fix what we had broken. I once read, “Imagine planting a garden and then becoming a plant.” That seems like a crazy concept, yet God chose to ‘plant’ Himself into this soiled world to show us His love for us and to make things new.

When we find ourselves surrounded by the dead of winter, let it be a reminder that new life is coming in the spring. In the same way, we have the hope that He is coming back to heal all of the brokenness and to wipe every tear. I praise God for His design, His sacrifice, and what is to come. Let’s hold to the hope promised in Revelation 21:5:

Then the One seated on the throne said, “Look! I am making
everything new.” He also said, “Write, because these words
are faithful and true.”

Find a moment this week to look for something within God’s creation that gives you hope of new life.

Hope // New Life is Coming | Brandy Gibson