A New Page
(Photo credit: Anastasia Zhenina | unsplash.com)
(I wrote this almost five years ago when I was blogging pretty regularly. I happened upon it and thought I would post it. It has been a timely reminder for me and I hope it can give you courage, too.)
1Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,
2Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
-Hebrews 12:1-2 (KJV)
Each day, we are getting a page written in our own personal life books. These books that you and I have share our stories. They tell of how we started out: the good times, the bad times, and the times where nothing made absolutely no sense…and we were okay with it. Most of us don’t realize that each day we determine what’s recorded down in our book. We know what’s happened in the past 11 chapters of our book. But we don’t know how the next (insert however many number of chapters you want your story to have here) chapters are going to turn out.
And here’s the thing, just because we messed it up in our past doesn’t mean that that’s how our story ends.
One of my favorite things to do while I’m at the beach is to get up early and watch the sun rise. The way that the big, orange ball throws it’s illuminating rays across the surface of the ocean so that it glimmers and shines like the waters were actually concealing gold is a beauty to be recognized.
However, the truly beautiful thing about the sun rise is that it shows me that a new day is approaching. A day that has never graced this planet we call Earth. The troubles and faults of my life that I had experienced yesterday, last week, 3 years ago, dissipate when I recognize that a new day has approached.
22 The faithful love of the Lord never ends!
His mercies never cease.
23 Great is his faithfulness;
his mercies begin afresh each morning.
-Lamentations 3:22-23 (NLT)
“Weeping may last through the night, but joy comes with the morning.”
-Psalm 30:5b (NLT)
I don’t have to worry about what happened in my past. I know that God’s grace and mercy are there waiting for me in the morning. I know that I don’t have to live in condemnation because I’ve given my life over to Jesus (Romans 8:1-4, 11, 39).
Back to the opening verse…
1Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,
I’m called to put aside everything not befitting in God’s eyes (sin) and run my race with patience.
It's not a full blown dead sprint at the beginning of a half-marathon. It's not pedal to the metal when you’re driving from New York to Los Angeles.
Instead, it's a steady, rhythmic stride that keeps you focused on how you are performing and what goal you are setting out to attain.
Verse 2 of Hebrews 11…
2Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Not only is Jesus the author of our faith, but he’s the finisher. He’s the one who writes our pages. His penmanship is unmistakable. He takes pride in writing our stories, and I believe he loves revealing our pages to us as we go along.
To me, it’s almost like I can hear Him saying, “Yeah, Seth, you thought things were over for you on this page, but wait until you see where I’m taking you in a few more pages. Wait until you see how this chapter is going to end for you. Just wait. You thought you seen what you thought were the best parts in this book? You haven’t seen ANYTHING yet! And I can’t wait until the book finishes! Oh, it’s going to be like nothing you’ve ever seen or heard!”
My book isn’t finished yet. Each day, a brand new page is being recorded down in it. Even though Jesus is writing my story down, I determine the outline of it. I have the freedom to either make the pages shine with His glory, to make them appear ordinary, or to have one of “those” scenes that the reader wishes they could skip over sometimes.
What does your book say about you? Do you believe that each “new page” is another chance to write out the story you were meant to live?
Don’t sell yourself short. Your chapters up to this point may be horrible and bad and you may think that there’s no way that your story is going to end well, but you have the opportunity by placing your book on Jesus’ desk and letting him write the rest of your book out, listening and following his methods and teaching.
You were made for more and each day is a new page.