During a devotional reading this week I came across the following scripture:
“17And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. For the old skins would burst from the pressure, spilling the wine and ruining the skins. New wine is stored in new wineskins so that both are preserved.” Matthew 9:17 NLT
Now, you know I’m all about context so let me give you bit of background. Jesus finally stepped on the scene, and John told everyone that this was the dude that He was telling them about. This was the Messiah that they kept trying to say he was. Quick pause for the cause:'
John does something that many of us fail to do. People came to him with a title that he knew he could not fulfill and was not called to! I wish that more believers would stop taking on titles and roles just because someone told you that’s what you were suppose to do/be! You have to know who you are in God and your purpose on this earth so you do not try to take on a cause they you have not been called to. Think about it, if John had taken on that role, he wouldn’t have had the resources to perform all of the miracles Jesus performed AND he quite possibly would have removed himself from the cross before my sins and yours were covered. Stay in your lane! You were fearfully and wonderfully made with a specific purpose in mind. Fulfill that purpose and edify the kingdom with that purpose. Push Play
So Jesus begins working miracles and teaching as he travels through the land. He taught those in the city, but most importantly he was teaching the disciples. It was like a lengthy study abroad for those who chose to leave their lives behind and follow Jesus. Well in this passage, one of John’s disciples decides to question why Jesus’ disciples are not fasting! Now we know as believers that fasting and praying bring forth the ability to cast out spirits and gives immense power in different situations. Upon reading this, I will admit, I was upset that this disciple was bold enough to question Jesus about what His disciples were doing. But as I continued to read I realized that this was what I like to call a “teachable moment”. Jesus was indeed a teacher and one of the lessons He taught that day was to cherish people and moments as they are with you in the present.
“15 Jesus replied, “Do wedding guests mourn while celebrating with the groom? Of course not. But someday the groom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast.” Matthew 9:15 NLT
The other lesson he taught was of the new wine in and old wineskins. Now after some research about wineskins I learned that an old wineskin has been stretch and that the ferment from the new wine in an old wineskin could destroy the old wineskin. It does not have the framework or the elasticity that a new wineskin holds. The new wines strength would destroy it. If you look at in from a personal standpoint: What new thing has God placed in you that has thrived only because it was poured into the “new you”? Would those gifts, talents, blessings, and discoveries about yourself survive in the “old you”? Probably not! It wasn’t because there was something wrong with the wine, but it was because the old man was not prepared or positioned to hold that new gift.
Let’s look at a real world example: A new corporate CEO comes in and turns everything around at a company. A few years later things in the company take a drastic turn for the worst. The CEO, seeing no other way out, takes their life. There was nothing wrong with the gift of becoming the CEO, but that person in their current “skin” was not equipped to handle the ups and downs of the company. Since they were not equipped, they perished.
By the end of the scripture I realized that God protects (preserves) our old skins (selves) from destruction. Had I received some of the revelations and blessings in my old mindset, I would have destroyed things around me and quite possibly myself. If I had known of my talents in that old season I would not have been able to deal with the responsibility of that gift in my old mind set! Yes God is concerned about the gift, talent, and blessing being destroyed, but the scripture also talks about the destruction of the bag. Know that they very thing you are asking God for may be just what He has for you, but it’s not the proper time for you to receive it. I would rather wait on something to come to me in the right season and use it properly, than to receive it in the wrong season and destroy it, myself, and possibly harm others around me. So the question is do you want your new wine bad enough to exchange your old skin for your new skin? Who or what is waiting on you to change out of your old skin and into your new skin? In the end God will do all He can to preserve you, even if it means withholding something from you.
The best things I could have EVER done were to: find my passion in life and to give God a clear YES. With that I received a new mindset and approach. So what are you waiting on? You prayed and asked for change, but what are you doing in your mind, body, and spirit to promote that change. The time has come to put your faith and prayers into action. You take one step and God will give you two, but you have to put the work behind your faith! God only wants what’s best for you and if holding on to a wonderful blessing is what He has to do while you change your skin, He will do just that. So what are you waiting one, get to work on your new skin. Yes it will be uncomfortable from time to time, but isn’t that discomfort worth what He’s holding for you?
