Day 3

Bible passage: Isaiah 65:17–25 (ESVUK)

¹⁷ “For behold, I create new heavens
and a new earth,
and the former things shall not be remembered
or come into mind.
¹⁸ But be glad and rejoice for ever
in that which I create;
for behold, I create Jerusalem to be a joy,
and her people to be a gladness.
¹⁹ I will rejoice in Jerusalem
and be glad in my people;
no more shall be heard in it the sound of weeping
and the cry of distress.
²⁰ No more shall there be in it
an infant who lives but a few days,
or an old man who does not fill out his days,
for the young man shall die a hundred years old,
and the sinner a hundred years old shall be accursed.
²¹ They shall build houses and inhabit them;
they shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
²² They shall not build and another inhabit;
they shall not plant and another eat;
for like the days of a tree shall the days of my people be,
and my chosen shall long enjoy the work of their hands.
²³ They shall not labour in vain
or bear children for calamity,
for they shall be the offspring of the blessed of the Lord,
and their descendants with them.
²⁴ Before they call I will answer;
while they are yet speaking I will hear.
²⁵ The wolf and the lamb shall graze together;
the lion shall eat straw like the ox,
and dust shall be the serpent's food.
They shall not hurt or destroy
in all my holy mountain,”
says the Lord.

Thinking about the new creation and prayer

Isaiah gives us a picture of what the new creation will be like, a good creation without the curse of the fall.

Look at Isaiah 65 and list all the good things promised in the new creation. Which one do you find the most exciting? Think about what it will be like enjoying those things without the taint of sin or suffering. The good things we enjoy in this world (and how we feel about them), can offer us a small glimpse into how glorious the new creation will be.

Today

When you go for your walk or run today, imagine how that activity might be different in the new creation. Think about all the bad things that we thought about on day 1 that will be gone, and think about all the good things you thought about today (from your own list and from Isaiah 65) that give you a glimpse of the goodness of the new creation.

Thinking further

As you do a different activity today, you could consider how it will be transformed in the new creation. It could be your work, or a meal, or something else. Imagine the good things that you will enjoy that aren’t spoiled. How does this help you think the new creation is a place worth waiting for and living for?