When the Crushing Makes New Wine

When the Crushing Makes New Wine

In the pressing, in the crushing, you are making new wine.

In the soil, I now surrender.  You are breaking new ground.

The Pressing Process

I am cooking lasagna for supper.  I pull out my garlic press to add garlic to my sauce.  As I watch the garlic clove being minced into tiny pieces, the fragrant smell of garlic fills my nostrils. 

The garlic press is an amazing kitchen utensil.  With ease, the garlic clove is crushed and forced through a grid of small holes.  As it is pressed, the garlic’s appearance is transformed and its aroma activated.

Being Transformed Through the Crushing

Life is often life a garlic press.  At times, we feel crushed to the brink of despair. Sadly, we find ourselves with a new reality.  Could it be that we too, are being transformed by the pressing?

A current family crisis is causing much heartache.  The pain is heavy and all-consuming. 

What good comes from a broken heart?  Perhaps in the crushing, new wine is being created.

Listen to this beautiful song called New Wine. https://youtu.be/6Q_UbUKYG8g?si=-jD1iCrD9PD8pZYL

When Crushing Makes New Wine

New wine is good!  Its smell, taste, and appearance, is pleasing to the senses.  Surprisingly, wine is also created through the crushing and pressing of grapes.  Good wine takes time to age and ferment as the hue of the grapes blend to create a unique flavor.  

What do you taste when sipping your new wine?  Perhaps you recognize notes of suffering and perseverance, with a huge dose of grace.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away. See, new things have come. 2 Corinthians 5:17    

Do not remember the former things or consider the things of old.  I am about to do a new thing. Isaiah 43:18-19a

New wine is always poured into a new wineskin so that both are preserved. Matthew 9:17b  

Prayer

Dear Father, Son, and Spirit, thank you that new wine is possible in my difficult situation.  Granted, the crushing is painful.  Help me to trust that You are creating something new and good from my hurt. Amen.

Questions to Consider:

1. What kind of aroma do you release when you are pressed? 
2. Share a time in your life when you were crushed, yet new wine resulted.