God is making all things new for you.

Written by Rev. Douglas Brauner

You can listen to today’s devotion by clicking on this SoundCloud link.

And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”
Revelation 21:5 English Standard Version

This picture is of the sun in total eclipse. This is not what I expected as I sat with a group of people to watch this amazing event a few miles north of Pinedale, Wyoming.

I set up my camera to take a picture every three seconds so that I could make a time-lapse of the August 21, 2017 solar eclipse. I had thought about this moment for many days. I didn’t have a solar filter for my camera, so I knew that I’d have to take a wide-angle shot. I closed down my aperture to create a sun flare, and tried to capture as much of the land as possible while still taking a picture of the sun as it crossed paths with the moon.

Solar Eclipse Totality

This is the result when the eclipse reached totality. Rather disappointing. Ugh!!!

Though I might be disappointed in this shot, I have not given up on photography. In fact, I’m making plans for the April 8, 2024 eclipse that will run from Mexico to Nova Scotia.

Our failures, even moral failures, can cripple us as we believe that we’ve crushed God’s heart. How can God still love me when I’ve failed him? How can he still bless me when my behavior has cursed him? Maybe that’s the way you feel today.

God has given us a promise through the Apostle John that he makes all things new. The context of the above verse is the moment when Christ returns and brings his bride home. At that moment the one who died for us, that we might be forgiven, and who rose for us, to give us the promise of eternal life, will truly make all things new. No more sin. No more pain. No more death.

However, there is also a present reality to these words. Today, God is making all things new. Renewal begins at the cross where we pour out failures and sins, and receive the gift of starting over. God is indeed making all things new for you. Trust his promise.

Copyright Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado