New Wine

Then He spoke a parable to them: “No one puts a piece from a new garment on an old one; otherwise the new makes a tear, and also the piece that was taken out of the new does not match the old.  37And 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.  38But new wine must be put into new wineskins, and both are preserved.  39And no one, having drunk old wine,  immediately desires new; for he says, ‘The old is better.’ ” Luke 5:36-38

I believe God wants to do a new work in our lives a deeper work, but we have to be willing to let him. We must be sensitive to the spirit of God so that when he pulls us in a new direction we will see it, feel it, hear it and we will go. I’ve thought a lot about this verse recently because of some big changes in my own life. I stepped away from a ministry I had been in for quite a while to follow where God was taking me. At times I found myself struggling with the decision because it took me away from all that I was comfortable in. I was comfortable in what I was doing I sang on the worship team, I traveled with the ministry, and I was very involved. Whether I was willing to admit it or not it had become my identity. However, I believe over the years God has been trying to give me exactly what I have asked for which more of him. 

Our identity should be in Christ not I go to this church, I sing in this choir, I know this minister, I do this I do that. What a deception the approval of man is even if they are a man or woman of God. We can have man’s approval and totally be missing the mark with God. That is something I didn’t want to be true in my life. I have always desired a deeper walk a ministry of my own if you will where I can touch people’s lives and make a difference. That was never going to happen if I stayed in a place of comfortable and complacency. In a way these places seem easy at first. You know what to expect you don’t have to really make any decisions because someone else makes them for you tells you what to think, how to feel, and that you are ok. But I wanted more, and I still want more out of life. I wanted to know God for myself to see God move for me, to know beyond a shadow of a doubt that we are in this together me and him. So, when he asked me to step away because he wanted me to really draw close to him and to know him, I went. 

I think he prepares us for stuff like this as well. Things had started to deteriorate almost like a bad relationship where you just know okay, I think this might be ending. He was preparing me to be able to step away when he asked. Even though he was making it uncomfortable so I would go I still didn’t want to because the unknown was scary to me. I just remember he kept telling me do you trust me. In my mind I just imagined him sticking his hand out for me to take asking do you trust me. I wanted the answer to be yes so bad. Even though my faith wasn’t quite there yet I gave him a shaky yes and I went. I believe all this last year he has been using this time to make me a new vessel worthy of new wine, able to carry the more I had been asking for. Old me couldn’t have carried it I wasn’t ready. I knew him but not like I do now I had brokenness that needed to be healed and ministered to in that one-on-one time with God. We try to take all our broken pieces or old and new cloth like the scripture says and piece them together to make ourselves whole but when he pours in the wine we burst. We try to pretend we are ok because that is what we think we are supposed to do. When God is wanting us to trade out those broken and old pieces for something new, he wants to make us a new vessel we don’t have to settle we can be made whole. While he was making me new, I was becoming more and more dependent on him instead of man. If he asked me today the answer would be yes, yes, yes over and over again I would say yes, I trust you. Through showing me, he will always be there for me even if no one else is around my love and trust has grown 10-fold for him. I suppose part of me always believed if such and such wasn’t around to approve of me maybe God wouldn’t show up. Wow was I ever wrong. He shows up more now than he ever did. 

Let God make you a new vessel ask God for new wine. Just begin to pray towards it. It doesn’t have to be elaborate just being to talk to him. That is how I started just be honest with him. I used to just say God help me to be whole help me with the things I want to be different, but I can’t seem to control. Help me to depend on you more help me to trust you and know you like I should, and he will begin to do it.

This is a great song by a great group it blessed. Try listening to it while you pray and seek God.