Restoration Requires a Trash Bin

When I was looking for a word to describe my artwork, and brand the intent of my work, I went searching in the dictionary.  I spent a couple of years looking for just the right word. I used a couple, and still like their message, but when I ran across the word “PRINK” which means “dress for show, preen,” I knew I had found my word. I have no idea when this word was ever used, but I love it.

 As I have intently thought about how God deals with mankind over the last several months, I found a new personal value in the renewal process of God’s great plans.  The word prink fits that process, because it not only means to dress something new, but it also means preen, which is to redress something old. Hang in here with me… When a bird preens, it is resituating its feathers so they effectively do what they were intended to do.  Molting is what birds do when they get new feathers, and preening is a vital part of organizing those feathers. But first the old feathers must fall away. Otherwise, birds could not fly and ducks could not float. Preening is a freshening of something in the bird’s life, which is extremely necessary. The process begins when feathers are new and continues, day in and day out, as elements destroy the feathers - year after year. AND it also is a part of the transition from old feathers to new ones.

 In scripture we are taught that whatever we start with in life that is new, will need renewal at some time.  It is an integral part of God’s design to make, allow weathering to occur, and remake – almost everything.  To build up. break down, and build up again. Jesus spoke of this principle several times.  Consider these  two verses.

 No one puts a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; for the patch pulls away from the garment, and the tear is made worse.  Nor do they put new wine into old wineskins, or else the wineskins break, the wine is spilled, and the wineskins are ruined. But they put new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.” Matthew 9:16 - 17 NKJV

Jesus spoke of making things new as something done with consideration of the consequences.  He makes it clear that there is a time when the old is necessarily discarded.

In the Lamentations of Jeremiah, he “laments” that he has gotten old and his teeth have broken, and he is no longer living in prosperity.(ch.3.)  He seems defeated until starting in verse 19 he says:

Remembering my afflictions…and 20 - 23: My soul has them still in remembrance and is humbled in me. This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope. It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning.”

He sees the sequence of God to include a breaking down, but not a total consumption, because God in his compassion wants newness every day. Jeremiah was a rebuilder. The themes of his books in the Bible continually speak of a God who was designing newness in their lives:

The Lord hath done that which he had devised...Lamentations 2:17

He hath builded…3:5.  And in Jeremiah 33:3, &7: Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things which thou knowest not….I will cause the captivity of Judah and …of Israel to return, and will build them as at the first.

For the nation of Israel, Jeremiah counted on the character of God to be of one who rebuilds and brings newness, and he used it to encourage a nation.

To take courage, we must first come to a realization that we need newness, and then understand that the newness, which God desires to bring us, is more wonderful than we can imagine. Then thirdly, we must be willing to give up the old - to weep for it’s brokenness or loss, but be inclined to allow it to be destroyed. Recognizing that putting away the old allows that the new can totally be built on a better foundation. The breakdown and renewal of all elements of life are an ongoing cycle. The foundations of the universe are built upon the principle of things turning day by day in a cycle, and though always moving forward, it is always in a process of breakdown and renewal. 

Galatians 6:15 said that the circumcision didn’t avail much, but the fact that a man became a new creature in Christ is what counts. In the letter to the Corinthians Paul said:

Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature; old things are passed away; behold all things are become new. II Corinthians 5:17 

When you own a house, the grind of keeping it from falling down around you can become discouraging until you remember that God made earth to be in a constant need of daily attendance. He realized that we would need to be always changing the old into something new. I believe that since we are made in his image, we should find joy in revitalizing nearly everything in life. We should embrace the inner yearning to adjust and change, to sometimes give in and tear down, and  always look to God to supply our needs to rebuild, and refresh. 

But all of this should give us a new outlook on God as well. We should see in his character a yearning to “prink” the things he makes.  He goes out of his way to dress up this world, so isn’t his desire to dress and redress our lives as well? When we love to do something, and are constantly drawn to doing it, we call it passion. God has a passion for grand design, but he also has an ongoing passion for making things new.  Isn’t that a bit opposite of how our expectations of God’s supply often run? Are our prayers centered around a God who wants our lives to be in a constant state of renewal?  Do we see that it is he who must provide for such a life style to be possible?  If God is in it, can we see his passion for change? Do we factor in that God’s pan’s include certain parts of our lives to be totally replaced with something new. Next time you see painting a wall as a chore, think of Jesus’s joy that you are doing the work he created in you, so that you might be more like him.  Maybe it will at least make you smile. But when you are discouraged as things around you collapse and decay…try to see what God sees. He is just thinking of his new design. Look out beyond the things that are falling apart.  He is planning to “PRINK YOUR WORLD!”  So rejoice!

Lord, I confess that I hang on to things in this world when I often should let go. I have a need to trust you to supply for the newness that is needed in many areas of my life. I now realize you have great joy in dressing up my world, my environment, my life. I ask Lord that, as I resign to a need for old things to pass away, you will allow me to share your passion for the new.  I know you already have a great design in mind! In Jesus name, AMEN

Comments

[Dexter Morgan]

Thanks for the great post. I am searching for a new garbage bin myself. Any suggestions?

[Jak Manson]

When you are in need of a good reliable garbage bin, you want to know what you need to look for. When you know what to look for it makes things easier. I know choosing a garbage bin is not something super special, but it is still important to know what to look for.

Jak Manson | www.kingbin.ca