We love new things. We love new clothes. We love the feel of new things. We love new shoes (once they get broken-in). We love new cars (Boy, would we love a new car). We love the smell of new cars. We love new houses. We love new gadgets (some of us love new gadgets a little too much). We love new restaurants. We love new kittens and new puppies and new babies. We love new things. Or do we?

We love new things when we have a voice in shaping the new thing that comes in to our lives. We want to be the one who determines what new thing we have and when that new thing appears. We do not always have that option, do we? Sometimes new things are forced on us before we are ready for it.

A new job can be a great thing. Exciting. Fulfilling. Adventuresome. However, if we are stumbling through a new job because we were forced out of our old position it may not be nearly so exciting. Meeting new people and developing new relationships may go totally against our idea of a good day at work.

Retirement can be great thing. You have all that free time. No
schedule. Travel wherever and whenever you want. Sleep late. You don’t have to shave if you don’t want to. Man, what a life! Retirement is every person’s dream, if it comes when we plan it. However, if our health has caused us to retire early it may not be so much fun. If the company to whom we have given twenty-five years of our life suddenly decides they want someone younger and inform us that we are not part of the company’s future, it can be a disappointing and distressing thing.

A new baby is certainly a good thing. For most it is. If the new baby comes before marriage it can be a very difficult thing. You were not ready for this responsibility. You are not ready to give up your freedom. If the baby comes too early in the pregnancy it can be a frightening experience. When the baby, and the bills come before the budget can afford it, the joy of a new baby may be diminished. Having a new baby is almost always good thing, but when it was not part of the plan it may produce more stress and strain on an already strained relationship.

A new direction in life is often talked about (especially in religious
circles) as a good thing. There are many times when a decision to take a new direction in our life is a very good thing. However, sometimes that new direction is not something we planned for. Sometimes the change of direction is forced upon us. Your spouse became ill and your life changed forever. Your spouse died. You son or your daughter left home before you were ready for them to leave, or they came back home when you thought they were ready to be on their own. When the directional changes are forced upon us by life’s unexpected and unplanned events the new direction is not so pleasant.

Life if full of new things! Most are good. Most are welcome. Most are invited. Some are not. How we deal with the new things in our lives has a lot to do with who we are and who we will become.

Paul’s talk of contentment in the fourth chapter of Philippians as he reminds us that knowing God’s constant love and provision is vital for dealing with new things. He had great plans to do mighty things for the Kingdom of God. His plans changed. He adapted and did even greater things.

The disciples were content living ordinary lives of fishing, collecting taxes and doing the things they had been trained to do. They met Jesus and everything changed.

As long as we are breathing we are going to experience new things. Some we get to choose. Some we are forced to endure without a choice.

The New Testament is full of new things. A new commandment, a new life, a new covenant, a new wineskin, a new creation, a new hope, a new heaven and a new earth, a new name, a new Jerusalem, a new song, a new body, a new attitude. Seems that God has in mind for us to not only expect but to anticipate new things being a part of our lives.

“Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the
Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, ‘The LORD is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.’ The LORD is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD” (Lam. 3:21-26, NIV).

Remember the promise: “He who was seated on the throne said, ‘I am making everything new!’ Then he said, ‘Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true’” (Revelation 21:5, NIV).

Something new will probably come into your life today. Perhaps you have a new baby, or a new job, or a new car, a new house, or a new relationship. God has new things planned for us. Don’t resist it. Give yourself time and room to adjust, but learn embrace it. Enjoy it. Life in Him is filled with new things.

© Copyright 2004, Tom Norvell
Used by permission
www.anorvellnote.ibelieve.com

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