Everything is New

Today I took myself off for a couple of hours to spend some time practicing solitude. With no other inputs other than from myself and God I took myself to one of my favourite spots in Brixham – Berry Head.

With my heart open to God I noticed how clearly the constant crashing of the waves against the cliffs has scored and formed them into the shape they are. It’s what makes the view of the landscape so stunning.

I imagined my feet firmly planted on a time line stretching back through time and forwards into the future. Aware that I was standing in the “present moment”, the only space which I’m able to fully inhabit, God showed me how the events and experiences of my past have shaped and moulded me – but that they do not have to define me!

In the Bible (2 Corinthians 5:17) it says –

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

As a follower of Jesus I AM a new creation. My past has gone. It does not have to define me. Of course lessons can and should be learnt from past experiences, but I no longer have to carry any shame, guilt or fear from those events.

Even though I have been made new it doesn’t automatically mean that I will live into my new status. I may still carry things from the past that will take time to heal. I may not yet be aware of some of the deeper wounds in my heart. But I will trust God to lead me forwards into my future, as a new creation, and I refuse to let my past define what is yet to come!