I Want to Be New

And if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you. Romans 8:11 (NIV)

I remember believing that I was alive. I remember submitting to the lies that confidence in self is the definition of happiness and that love needs to be created rather than accepted. I remember considering myself an experimental Buddhist, when in truth I was spiritually lost. I remember trying to be my own God. But most importantly, I remember giving my life to Christ last year on a beautiful July afternoon.

I walked out to my back porch to rest after a long day of tearful prayer. I slumped in the patio chair with limp limbs and leaned my head against the back of the chair. I closed my eyes, and gradually I began to find rest. My mind was still. I opened my eyes and saw the sky directly above me. The sky was a clean, pure blue and the clouds drifted so slowly. There was a soft breeze that blew the hair off of my face. Everything about the moment was overwhelmingly beautiful and perfect. Then, a tear ran down my cheek as I felt the Spirit in my heart speaking to me. He said, "Emily. This moment in all its beauty does not compare to mine and it does not compare to yours. You are mine; I love you. Rest, it is finished."

I slowly stood up, wiped my tears, and walked back inside as a new creation. That was the first day I ever felt alive! Beautiful, divine truths began to sink in one by one. I am worth dying for. I am forgiven. I will soon know God as He knows me. I am going to heaven. I know what Love is. I have something I can trust. God lives in me. It was more than I could handle, and my contagious excitement began to overflow. I was like a little Christian puppy and I could not contain myself! His love was so alive.

It is easy to be excited and joyful when you are young, and Christ's truths are still new in your heart. But as you grow older and fall into your daily routines, it is significantly harder to maintain that joy and "newness" you once felt. But, God does not change. Those things I realized as an excited Christian puppy are no less true today, than they were on that beautiful July afternoon. And you are no less new than you were the day you were first saved! God is still as good and as faithful as He ever was. You are still eternal and you are still perfectly loved. In fact, according to Lamentations, God's compassions are made new in you every morning.

The same Spirit that had the power to raise Christ from the dead lives inside of you this very moment. Now that is what I call life. It is not mundane. It is not easy to understand. It cannot be tamed. It is invincible and all-knowing. And it lives in you. So today, reclaim it- for you are a new creation, and there is nothing the God in you cannot do!

Lord, please remind my heart of the depth of your divine power. Revive me, making the truth of Your perfect love alive in my heart, so that I may praise You and honor You as you deserve. Remind me that I am new, and remind me that You are God. I love you. Amen.

Emily Jones