God created the whole universe in six days, and on the seventh day, He rested. And on the eighth…? Well, he hasn’t been on vacation since the seventh day! He is always active, creating new things. But are we ready to receive them?
With God, some things will never change: like His love for us and His commitment to us. “My covenant I will not break, nor alter the word that has gone out of My lips” (Psalms 89:34 NKJV). But other things are constantly changing. “Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness” (Lamentations 3:22-23 NKJV). When we are in a time of devastation, we can expect God to create a way out. “Behold, I will do a new thing, now it shall spring forth; shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness and rivers in the desert” (Isaiah 43:19 NKJV).
Even if God does not hide His will from us (Romans 12:2), He does not always tell us how He acts and does not explain every detail of His plan. God asks us to trust Him and to obey (John 21:22). If His precepts are the same for all His children, God is sometimes more severe with some than with others (James 3:1). Our journey with the Lord is unique to each of us, but we are moving towards the same goal. This is probably why our Heavenly Father was never interested in religion but wanted a personal relationship with each of his children.
Not only does God lead us in different ways from each other, but He wants us to be ready to change direction whenever He asks us to. Even if we do what is right, He can ask us to give it up and start another project for Him. For example, a pastor can be excellent for his congregation and God asks him to give his flock to another pastor so that he is free to do missionary work. With the Lord, you have to be ready to try new things and trust Him.
This is what Jesus taught with His parable of the old jugs. “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 KJV). The wineskin in this passage refers to the leather bags used in those times. When people went to get new wine from a producer, the producer poured a portion of liquid into leather bags for transport. But since the wine was new, fermentation was not finished, and gases continued to escape from the mixture. So you needed a bag that could stretch and withstand the pressure of the gases. A dry old leather bag would surely crack under the pressure.
Jesus gave this parable after having criticized the rigidity of the Pharisees concerning their services to God. He said here that the Spirit of God was taking a different direction from theirs, and that if they weren’t malleable like a new bag, they couldn’t carry this new portion of the Spirit. This message still speaks to us today. Are we malleable? Are we ready for a change?
Some people have trouble with changes. They find peace in their routine, yet Jesus is supposed to be their prince of peace. Some people blame their age for their stillness, while God can use us at all ages in different ways. Over time, we can all become old pots if we are not willing to try new things, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. When he talks about our growth in Christ, the apostle Paul compares it to a race (1 Corinthians 9:24). We are not supposed to be in the same place spiritually than we were last year. “You ran well. Who hindered you from obeying the truth?” (Galatians 5:7 NKJV).
Maybe the Holy Spirit wants to use you in another area, to “stretch” your spiritual muscles! Maybe He wants to take you out of your comfort zone and make you meet new people. Some singles complain that they have no potential partners around them - maybe it’s time for them to change their surroundings and meet Christians from other backgrounds? Follow the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. If you are wrong but love God with all your heart, your Father will also use your mistakes to teach you (Romans 8:28). You will not lose if you are willing to move with God. It’s being still that kills. Whether you are in confinement or not, it is time to move, to confront your habits and your old ideologies. When the Spirit will be ready to pour His treasures into your heart, then you will be flexible and malleable enough to hold this new wine.