If you spent any time in the military, you have heard the phrase, “As you were.” This is a command that permits you to return to your previous state. Maybe you are sitting around chatting, and a higher-ranking officer walks in, and you quickly stand in respectful attention, you salute, they salute, and then they tell you (if they are done with you) “as you were.” This means you go back to chatting. In the life of the Israelites, in their second exile, they were praying to be as they once were, but captivated in the presence of God, they soon learn they will be even better than they were before. God is doing something new in them. When we stand in attention to God, we find God is doing something new in us too. Something new in the promises of Christ is something better than we ever realized was possible. “As you were” is not an option; “better than you were” is a promise.

Photo by Terry Kearney