We are independent of time and season; a new year does not impress us. Our lives bear the mark of eternity, of the eternal God who created us in his image. He does not want us to be swallowed up in what is transitory, but calls us to what is eternal. And he shall make of us immortal, timeless beings filled with eternity.

Perhaps the greatest danger that threatens us comes from being overly involved in the small, ordinary happenings of daily life – from becoming so enslaved by them that they fill our heart and soul. To go about life in this way is to go about unprotected, unaware, distracted, and removed from reality. Let us never allow ourselves to be dragged down by pettiness, or take the things of this earth so seriously that they burden us day after day. Let us live constantly in the Promise.

As surely as the world sets its hopes on machines, I set my hopes on the power of the Spirit. It is so strong that it can reverse everything that seems doomed. The Spirit can bring about a new heaven, a new earth, and a new life – and we ourselves will see it.

Were God not a God who awakens the dead; were God a God who had to put up with human history as it is, were it impossible to wipe an old slate clean and begin again – then our faith in him would be purposeless. We might as well give it up today. But God is the creator of new life. And he is so great and strong that, though the world be headed toward destruction and death, he will yet steer it in the opposite direction, to life.

Source: Christoph Friedrich Blumhardt, Now is Eternity: Comfort and Wisdom for Difficult Hours.