bloom

“And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the wine will burst the skins—and the wine is destroyed, and so are the skins. But new wine is for fresh wineskins.”
Mark 2:22 ESV

You can’t fit new life into old forms.

There is a time and a season for everything (Ecc 3:1). Sometimes our season calls us to steward the things God has put in front of us, sometimes we’re called to plant and take root, and sometimes we are called into a season of expansion — pressing into the more God has for us.

In Mark 2:22, Jesus illustrates this point to His disciples with the example of wineskins. As wine was poured into a wineskin it would expand under the pressure of fermentation. Therefore, if new and unfermented wine was poured into an old wineskin, it would burst. The point Jesus seeks to make is clear is this—you can’t fit new life, into old forms.

God loved His son. His son was his greatest gift, yet He released Him to be the salvation of the world. Look at the limitless beauty and restoration birthed from that. When Jesus came to earth — He came to do something new, not patch up something old. He came to fulfill, not destroy.

Often God will look for new wineskins because the old won’t stretch any further. For many of us there may be areas of our lives where we are still holding onto the “old.” Maybe out of comfort, out of fear of the unknown or because the old really isn’t “that bad.” But you know what friend? It’s okay to release good things too.

Sometimes we have to release the good things to let them grow. God doesn’t merely want what’s okay or mediocre for His children, He wants the very best. He doesn’t want you to settle, He wants to prosper you. God wants abundance for your life. He wants more.

Let Him take you into the more, Beloved. Let Him expand your life beyond what you could imagine.

additional reading:

Old Testament: Genesis 27:28, Psalm 1:3, Jeremiah 29:11
New Testament: 2 Corinthians 9:8, Philippians 4:19

reflect:

What are some areas of your life you feel you may have settled? Do you believe God wants to prosper you and wants abundance to overflow in your life? Can you rest in that while challenging yourself to ask God for more? Do you believe He wants your very best?

centering prayer:

 LORD, I thank you that I have an inheritance with you in heaven. I thank you that you have plans to prosper my life so that I may be a beacon of Light for your Kingdom. I thank you that I don’t have to settle for the mediocre because I serve a God with limitless power who wants the very best for me. Thank you God, that you want abundance for my life. I love you, Father. amen.