New Creation; Under Construction

Date: Tuesday, June 16, 2026

Readings: Isaiah 65 | Psalm 136:14-26

Isaiah 65 opens with an encouraging image: God stretching out His hands all day long to a rebellious, wayward people who keep walking away (Isaiah 65:2). But the prophet doesn’t leave us there. By the chapter’s close, we’re standing in front of a breathtaking vision: “See, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind” (Isaiah 65:17). The arc of Isaiah 65 bends from stubborn human rebellion all the way to divine re-creation, and nothing in between can stop it.

This vision is taken up again in Revelation 21, and it’s not a vague, floaty-clouds kind of afterlife. It’s earthy, embodied, and teeming with life: people building houses and living in them, planting vineyards and eating the fruit, children growing old without fear (Isaiah 65:20-22). The New Creation God promises is a restoration of shalom; the full flourishing of life as He originally intended it. The Apostle Paul tells us this new creation has already broken into our present reality in Jesus: “If anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come” (2 Corinthians 5:17). We’re living in the in-between as citizens of a Kingdom that has arrived but not yet fully unfolded.

This is the Gospel’s scandal: God is not pressing pause on history and waiting for us to catch up. He is actively creating something new, and He invites us into it right now. The old has gone; the new is here. Own it. Live it. Enjoy it.

Devotional Prompts:

Where in your daily life do you most struggle to believe that “the new has come” rather than just tolerating the brokenness?
What “former things” do you need to release to God today, trusting His promise that they will not define your future?

Prayer: Creator God, You are not done creating, and You have promised a world made entirely new. Give us the faith to live as citizens of that coming Kingdom even now, refusing to be conformed to the patterns of a fading age. Let the hope of the New Creation anchor our souls and fuel our love for others. Amen.