He has given me a new song to sing,
a hymn of praise to our God.
Many will see what he has done and be amazed.
They will put their trust in the Lord.
Psalm 40:1-3 (NLT)
As she lay there at his feet weeping and trembling, thoughts raced through her mind. She was terrified. She had been caught in the act of adultery. The law said she would be stoned. Everyone knew this. There was no getting out of it. She was so overcome with fear she was frozen in place. The men were talking over her asking Jesus to validate what they were saying. She was holding her breath and waiting for the first rock to hit.
Jesus stooped down. He was writing something in the sand she could not see. What was it? After a long hesitation, he stood up and said something to the men. Then he stooped down again.
There was silence and one by one through her tears and hair she could see their feet leaving the circle that held her captive. Jesus stood up and said "Where are all the folks that accused you? Are they accusing you now?" "No." she said. Jesus said, "I'm not accusing you either. But going forward, stop sinning."
Jesus gave this woman a new song. Her life was exposed and healed because of her encounter with him. How about you? Maybe you don't have an overt sin in your life. Maybe life has just gotten really hard to deal with. Sometimes life just takes wickedly unexpected turns. The principle is still the same. As the old is flushed out it creates a space for the new and if you allow that new to be Jesus, your feet are replanted and redirected. You will end up with a new song to sing.
Yes, Jesus gave this woman a new song as he did Moses, Abraham, David, Rahab, the Disciples, you and me. Each time our lives take an unexpected turn whether it is because of something we did or circumstances we can't control, there is a different path we can take. Jesus will turn our story into a new song. And all of it will be for his glory.