All Things New
Scripture — Isaiah 66:22 (NRSV)
For as the new heavens and the new earth,
which I will make,
shall remain before me, says the LORD;
so shall your descendants and your name remain.
Focus
In a world so filled with difficult things, so racked with suffering and injustice, we are encouraged by the vision of the prophet Isaiah. One day, God will renew all things. God will make all things new!
Devotion
As we come to the end of the book of Isaiah, we hear amazingly good news. Isaiah’s vision has often stretched beyond that of the other Hebrew prophets. He has repeatedly seen, for example, all nations coming to worship the God of Israel and even participating in God’s salvation. In the closing chapters of this prophetic book, we hear language that envisions, not just a global turning to God, but a recreation of all things. In Isaiah 65:17, for example, the Lord said, “For I am about to create new heavens and a new earth; the former things shall not be remembered or come to mind.” Now that’s a big vision… a new heaven and a new earth!”
Isaiah 66:22 reinforces this vision of a new creation with an added promise. Not only will God remake heaven and earth, and not only will his new creation last forever, but also God’s people will always belong to God. Their name, which identifies them as God’s special people, and their descendants “will remain” before the Lord. Those who belong to God will last. They will not disappear or be destroyed.
In a world so filled with difficult things, so racked with suffering and injustice, we are encouraged by the truth that God will renew someday all things. On that day, sorrow will be swallowed up by rejoicing (Rev 21:3-4). God’s justice will be established throughout the earth (Isa 42:4). Tools that produce war will be hammered into tools that produce food (Isa 2:4). In the meanwhile, even amid life’s difficulties and pains, we rejoice in the fact that we are God’s people now. We belong to God, and nothing in all creation can take his love away from us (Romans 8:38-39). I can’t think of a better foundation for living each day: the hope of God’s new creation and the reassurance that we belong to God forever.
Reflect
How does the fact that you belong to God forever make a difference in your life today?
In what ways do you yearn for God to make things new?
Act
Talk with the Lord about where you need to experience the “new-making” power of God in your life.
Pray
Gracious God, I am reminded today that newness comes through you. Only the one who created all things has the power to recreate them. And this you will do one day. What a day that will be!
In the meantime, I live in the hope of your new creation. Thank you, dear Lord, that through your Spirit I can experience a bit of the future even today. This encourages me to keep on hoping and to live hopefully each day.
But what reassures me most today is the knowledge that I belong to you forever. What a wondrous reality! It gives me the solid foundation to approach the new year with confidence. I am yours: your servant, your disciple, your beloved child. May I live out this truth each and every day, growing in you, serving you, glorifying and enjoying you in all that I do. Amen.
Find all Life for Leaders devotions here. Explore what the Bible has to say about work at the unique website of our partners, the Theology of Work Project. Reflection on today’s Life for Leaders theme can be found here: New Heavens and Earth.
Mark D. Roberts
Senior Strategist
Dr. Mark D. Roberts is a Senior Strategist for Fuller’s Max De Pree Center for Leadership, where he focuses on the spiritual development and thriving of leaders. He is the principal writer of the daily devotional, Life for Leaders,...