And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; or else the new wine will burst the wineskins and be spilled, and the wineskins will be ruined. But new wine must be put into new wineskins, and both are preserved. – Luke 5:37-38
The Lord trains us to let go of the old so we can partake of the new wine He has for us. Because of our familiarity with the old, we do not seek the new. When a parent weans a child from drinking the bottle, the child is unaware of the solid food, or the teeth, he will gain in its place. We do not seek the unknown.
We may think the old is better because we are used to it. It takes courage to partake of the new. We have become accustomed to many elements in our lives, so we reach forth and desire them because of their familiarity. We might be too quick to say no to the unknown. By God’s grace, we learn to look forward to the unexpected in God.
In Christ, we have new wineskins; the old no longer fit. No matter what the new is, we can trust it is better than the old. We cannot change the steps we took yesterday, nor know our tomorrows, but we can walk step by step into the now by the Spirit of God. We will desire the new as we step into it, from glory to glory!
And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. – Rom. 8:28
Whatever we think God is doing in our lives, we quickly find out He truly is doing much more. It’s as though we walk on a dot-to-dot pathway. With every step we take, a dot connects to another, and the picture becomes clearer. We not only go from dot-to-dot, but we are all like dots that God connects to accomplish His purpose.
We can’t guess what the full picture will be because each dot reveals something new of great importance to the whole. The way each part connects may be unknown, but the way God works all things together for our good can be trusted. We are His workmanship. He cares for us and even though we may not know what our tomorrow holds—we know He holds our tomorrow, and we rest in Him.
We enjoy the journey moving from dot-to-dot knowing the next destination is only a new season, not the end. Even when we think nothing is moving, something is; we are just not aware of it. Constantly trusting there is more to attain helps us remain hopeful and not get discouraged. Going from dot-to-dot means there is more, from glory to glory!
By faith Sarah herself also received strength to conceive seed, and she bore a child when she was past the age, because she judged Him faithful who had promised. – Heb. 11:11
Sarah received the power to conceive because she counted God faithful in what He had promised her. We, too, receive the anointing to birth the promises of God as we recall His faithfulness. As we look back on how great the Lord has already moved in our lives, we rest assured He is the same today and will move in our lives in the same great and amazing manner.
We might easily forget what God has done in our past. The obstacles we face today can be overwhelming. When the disciples realized they had only one loaf of bread in their boat, they started being fearful, forgetting the miracle of the multiplication of bread they had recently witnessed. They were looking at the lack of provision instead of looking at the provider who was with them: Jesus.
Let’s keep our focus on the Lord’s presence in our lives. The moment we look to ourselves, or others, fear tries to quench our faith. We never expect disappointment when we depend on God’s faithfulness. We can depend on Him: His salvation, His healing, His provision, His deliverance, Him! When we recall how faithful God is, our faith is increased, from glory to glory!
And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. – Phil. 4:19
The $500 I still needed for my rent occupied my every thought and gave way to worry. I couldn’t figure out how I was going to pay for it. After a few days that seemed forever, in prayer, I realized I was focusing on what I needed instead of the Lord Jesus, my provider. Instead of heaviness, I felt praise rising and thanked Him for His upcoming provisions.
Our reasonings hinder our faith in God. God’s ways are not our ways; He provides and multiplies supernaturally. We can only believe that it will be done in His timing, His way… and He will be glorified. Our riches can never compare to the riches of the glory in Christ Jesus. Our needs are met according to His riches, not ours.
Let’s trust the loving care of our Heavenly Father with a childlike faith. Let’s look up to Him, the source of every resource. God is bigger than what we are facing; Higher than what is seen; More glorious than what we can imagine. He is our provider, from glory to glory!
And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’- Gen. 3:2-3
Satan led Eve to focus on the one thing she couldn’t have, the one thing she couldn’t do, the one thing out of her reach. This one tree became huge compared to all the other trees she could eat from; the only one that mattered. Our adversary tempts us the same way. He twists things around to get us into being discontent because of what we don’t have, what is not working, or what is lacking in our lives.
The opposite responses shift discontentment and discouragement in our lives. Therefore, we count all our blessings, all that the Lord had done, all of His transforming glory, all of Him! Our temptation to pay attention to what we lack is overcome by the abundance we recognize we possess in Christ. If we concentrate on what is missing, we will never be fulfilled.
We pursue what He leads us to reach for as He leads us, not on our own strength. Our contentment is in Him, and we delight in whatever He brings our way. We focus on the presence of the Lord with praise and thanksgiving. His glory fills us with hope in His glorious workings, from glory to glory!
But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and grew. And they were in dread of the children of Israel. – Exodus 1:12
Nothing can stop divine growth. When the Egyptians set taskmasters over the children of Israel to afflict them, they wanted to hinder the Israelites’ growth. They assumed that their hard labor in building cities would stop them from building their own families. They believed the children of Israel would be so tired, so wiped out, so weak they would not be healthy; and therefore, unable to bear children.
The enemy causes warfare in our lives to stop us from being fruitful and multiplying. We become weary, lose motivation and passion. We sense our fire is diminishing. Our first thought often points to ourselves. We wonder what is wrong with us; why we are not more motivated; why our passion isn’t there; and so on. But it’s not us; it’s the continual warfare that wears us out so we would quit. But at that moment, the opposite happens!
The Holy Spirit quickens, strengthens us, and brings restoration. This scripture tells us that the more the taskmasters afflicted the children of Israel, the more they multiplied and grew. We too grow like a palm tree. The more the weight comes upon us, the more we grow! Our fruitfulness and multiplication are unstoppable. During persecution and afflictions, divine growth flourishes, from glory to glory!
