You make ALL things new.

There's something I love about Spring. While it's not my favorite season, I appreciate the abundance of new beginnings. There's nothing quite like feeling of a warm day after months of cold and bitter or a landscape awash in color after being draped in a cloak of gray for the winter. Creation becomes alive once again.

I can't help but draw a comparison between the the actual season and the season of our heart. See, at one time or another our hearts are that winter landscape: cold, gray, lifeless. But God made a way for us to have new life through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, "Now we look inside, and what we see is that anyone united with the Messiah gets a fresh start, is created new. The old life is gone; a new life burgeons! Look at it!" When we come to know Christ, our past mistakes and sins are gone forever! He comes in and replaces the cold with warmth, the gray with color, and He breathes new life into us. But in order for us to be able to flourish in this new life, we have to do our part as well. Isaiah 43:18-19 says, “But forget all that—  it is nothing compared to what I am going to do. For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it?I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland." Sometimes, we hold onto our past regrets and they quickly become dead weight that drag us to the bottom of a sea of fear and remorse. When we do that, we block God from having His way in our lives. We can't move forward in His will if we're constantly looking over our shoulders. But Jesus didn't come for that! He came to bear it all so that we don't have to! I needed to be reminded of that myself this week and I found peace in Matthew 11:28-30 "Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly."

Let God do His thing....let Him make ALL things in you new. Then and only then will you experience the freedom of His grace.