The old order of things has passed away. Revelation 21:4
Today’s Scripture
Revelation 21:1-5
Listen to Today’s Devotion
Today’s Devotion
Visiting Switzerland had been my dad’s lifelong dream. After his diagnosis of frontotemporal dementia, my mom decided to go with him while he was still physically able. “One day, with the snow blowing around us on Mount Titlis,” she said, “I saw the profound joy in your father’s face. It was the joy of a dream come true.” Later, however, my mom’s tears flowed when my dad asked, “Where are we again?”
My dad may have forgotten he was in Switzerland, but “the visit was worth it,” my mom said. “At least for one moment, he knew, and he was happy.”
God reassures us of a time when joy will never be taken away from us again. Because of our hope in Jesus, we can look forward to “a new heaven and a new earth” (Revelation 21:1), where we’ll be free from sin and death (Romans 5:12). In this perfect world, God will make “everything new” (Revelation 21:5). “ ‘He will wipe every tear from [our] eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away” (v. 4). Whatever suffering we experience now is temporary. God promises that one day “the former things will not be remembered” (Isaiah 65:17). They will forever be no more.
I know that one day, when we’re with God (Revelation 21:3), I’ll see profound joy on Daddy’s face. This time, it will stay.
Reflect & Pray
How does the hope of your future dwelling place give you hope now? What do you look forward to seeing there?
Dear Jesus, I praise You. One day, You’ll make all things new.
Today’s Insights
The “new heaven and . . . new earth” (Revelation 21:1) will permanently reestablish God’s original design that was present in the garden of Eden (see Genesis 1-2). In this new creation, predicted in Isaiah 65:17, His sovereign provision and protection will be enjoyed forever (Revelation 7:14-17). God offers His presence to His people throughout Scripture: the flood (Genesis 8:13-21), the exodus (Exodus 15), settling into the promised land (Deuteronomy 8:7-10; 12:10), the inauguration of the temple (1 Kings 8:27-29), and, especially, the ministry of Jesus (John 1:14, 18; 14:16-17). Believers in Christ have been “born again” (3:3) and have become a “new creation” (2 Corinthians 5:17). The presence of God once enjoyed in Eden and then accessible primarily in the temple became available to all when Jesus came as Immanuel—“God with us” (Matthew 1:23). His Spirit indwells all believers who await His coming (Romans 8:9, 23). We can look forward to a future with Christ where we’ll experience His presence and joy that will never be taken away.
For further study read Yet We Shall Live.
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