And He who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.”  – Revelation 21:5

I live in a part of the country that knows no seasons, so last week we traveled north to find fall. No, it wasn’t the New England vacation I longed to take, but it was the vacation I needed. And now you understand my silence last week.

Fall is a funny thing. Spring and summer usher in a burst of color that heralds life; fall ushers in a burst of color that heralds death. Yet in its death, it is beautiful. In death, God brings something new and glorious.

I needed that reminder because I have recently suffered deaths in my life. What I have seen is ugly and hard and bitter and cold. I see no beauty in it.

Perhaps you’ve been there too. You’ve suffered the physical death of a loved one, the death of a treasured relationship, the death of a dream. All you see is the bleakness, the passing of a promise, the expiration of hope.

But in the distance—only God knows how far off—He foresees restoration and joy. What He sees is different from what you’ve known, yes; but it is beautiful and new.

Why is it we can believe Him when He promises us eternal life—when He promises to make our perishable imperishable—and yet we fail to trust Him for miracles of the heart? Why is it we can say we believe He uses all things for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28), but we choose to exempt the circumstances of our greatest heartaches? Why is it our memories are so short that we forget the beauty He has already brought out of our ashes? Oh, what fragile, foolish creatures we are!

I speak for myself, my friends, but maybe also for you. The Lord has redeemed my life from the pit. He has given me a hope and a future. I see that in retrospect. But it can be hard to see that as I look forward. Yet I know it is there.

The trees may go bare, and the flowers may fade, but new life is coming. We must prepare for it and embrace it. What we sow, we will reap. Our reaping may not occur in the season of our choosing, but at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up (Galatians 6:9). He chooses the time. We must choose to persevere and wait for that burst of life amid our bleak landscape.

After all . . .

He who did not spare His own Son but gave him up for us all, how will He not also with Him graciously give us all things? – Romans 8:32

Your life may never again look the way you want it to. But nothing is beyond Jesus’ redemptive reach. He will make all things new. Only He has the power to make something beautiful out of death.

Though the fig tree should not blossom

         And there be no fruit on the vines,

         Though the yield of the olive should fail

         And the fields produce no food,

         Though the flock should be cut off from the fold

         And there be no cattle in the stalls,

Yet I will exult in the Lord,

         I will rejoice in the God of my salvation. – Habakkuk 3:17-18