Resilient – A Revelation Daily Devotional – Day 44
Cedar Creek Church September 9, 2025

Day 44 – September 9

Read or listen to the audio version of the Bible Reading and Daily Devotional.

Read: Revelation 21:1-8

The New Heaven and the New Earth
1Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. 4He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”
5And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” 6And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. 7The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son. 8But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”

The conclusion of any great narrative is predicated on the entire story. The opening, the rising action, and the climax all allow the weight and meaning of the conclusion to be acutely focused and impactful. God’s redemptive story, told within the pages of Scripture, certainly plays out in this way.

From Genesis 3 onward, humanity feels the tremendous weight and burden of separation from God caused by sin. The consequences laid out in Genesis 3 manifest in different ways, but at their core, they bring relational strife, toilsome labor that leads to anxiety-inducing hopelessness, and ultimately death. These things have always been, and according to today’s reading, they will always be the result of those choosing to remain separated from God.

The story plays out in various ways throughout the Old and New Testaments. Each step in the story draws humanity closer to the ultimate conclusion: a God who dwells in a tabernacle; a God who can be heard and issues commands yet not fully seen; a God who steps out of heaven to create a way for the seemingly eternally fragmented relationship to be restored; and a God who sends and allows His Spirit to dwell in those who believe. Each of these steps walks humanity closer to the relationship lost in the Garden of Eden. This is the weight of long-suffering upon which the greater weight of glory, to which Revelation 21 testifies, rests.

This entire narrative makes it clear: the reward of heaven is not streets of gold and mansions. It is not even the removal of suffering and pain, although those things will certainly be no more. The reward is the full glory of God dwelling in full, right relationship with a restored humanity. That glory drives out even the remembrance of pain and sin.

This scene also presents an interesting question that demands consideration: Are we, right now in the “already but not yet” of this promise, actually thirsty for it? Do we long for God’s full glory and presence to be the driving force of our entire life? This is the hope that produces resilience in all circumstances, but so many never find themselves truly, desperately longing for it. Perhaps we don’t fully understand the story. Perhaps our Western ways of comfort and ease have dulled our senses to our need for it. Or perhaps we are too cowardly to ask God to create this in us. Whatever the cause, we find ourselves dehydrated yet unaware of our thirst.

May visions of this ultimate reality and the true conclusion of the story we find ourselves in awaken us to a Shepherd who is leading, and will continue for eternity, to waters that truly satisfy. May we courageously follow Him now as we prepare to follow Him for eternity.

Pray: God, create a heart in me that longs to be fully in Your presence. Allow me to live a life that reflects this desire and draws others into it as well. Amen.