Verse of the Day for Monday, June 1, 2026

 

Verse of the Day for June 1, 2026

Revelation 21:2–4

When God Makes All Things New

“I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared like a bride adorned for her husband. I heard a loud voice out of heaven saying, ‘Behold, God’s dwelling is with people; and he will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away from them every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; neither will there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain any more. The first things have passed away.’”

The Word Before Us

Revelation 21:2–4 gives us one of the most beautiful promises in all of Scripture. It lifts our eyes beyond the brokenness of the present world and shows us the future God has prepared for His people. This is not a vague hope or a distant dream. It is the promise of God’s final renewal, when sorrow will be answered, death will be defeated, and the dwelling place of God will be with His people forever.

This passage speaks tenderly to every heart that has known grief, weariness, loss, or pain. It does not pretend that life is easy. It does not deny the tears we have shed or the wounds we carry. Instead, it tells us that the Lord Himself sees those tears, remembers His people, and will one day wipe them away with His own hand.

Understanding the Context

The book of Revelation was written to believers who knew hardship, pressure, and uncertainty. Many Christians in the early church lived under the weight of opposition and suffering. Revelation does not simply give them a vision of frightening events or mysterious symbols. At its heart, it reveals the victory of Jesus Christ and the faithfulness of God to bring His people through trial into eternal glory.

In Revelation 21, John sees the holy city, the New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God. The picture is rich with hope. The city is prepared like a bride adorned for her husband, showing beauty, joy, covenant love, and holy union. This is not merely a place; it is the redeemed people of God dwelling in the fullness of God’s presence. The separation caused by sin, sorrow, and death is finally removed.

The loud voice from heaven declares the heart of the promise: God’s dwelling is with people. From Genesis onward, Scripture tells the story of God seeking fellowship with His creation. In the garden, humanity walked with God, but sin brought separation, fear, and death. Through the tabernacle, the temple, the incarnation of Christ, and the gift of the Holy Spirit, God continued to draw near. Here, in Revelation, that nearness reaches its fullness. God will dwell with His people, and they will belong fully to Him.

Then comes the promise that has comforted generations of believers: God will wipe away every tear. Death will be no more. Mourning, crying, and pain will pass away. These words do not minimize suffering. They show that suffering is temporary in the hands of the eternal God. The first things—the broken things, the painful things, the things marked by sin and death—will pass away because God is making all things new.

Living the Verse Today

This passage gives us courage to live faithfully in a world that is not yet healed. We still face grief, illness, separation, disappointment, and death. We still stand at hospital beds, gravesides, empty rooms, and quiet places where memories linger. Yet Revelation 21 reminds us that these sorrows are not the final truth about God’s people.

Christian hope is not escape from reality. It is trust in the God who will redeem reality. We do not ignore the pain of this life, but we also do not surrender to it as though it has the last word. Christ has risen. Christ reigns. Christ will come again. Because of Him, the future of God’s people is not abandonment, darkness, or loss, but life in the presence of God.

This promise also shapes how we endure today. If God will one day wipe away every tear, then our tears matter to Him now. If death will one day be no more, then death is already a defeated enemy. If mourning, crying, and pain will pass away, then our present suffering is held within a greater story of restoration. We may not understand every sorrow, but we can trust the One who has promised to make all things new.

Revelation 21:2–4 invites us to live with holy patience and steady hope. It teaches us to comfort one another, to grieve honestly, to love deeply, and to keep walking toward the promise of God. The day is coming when faith will become sight, when prayer will give way to presence, and when every wound carried by the redeemed will be met by the mercy of God.

Reflection

When you think of God wiping away every tear, what sorrow, fear, or burden do you need to place again into His faithful hands today?

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Watch for my upcoming devotional book, The Word Before Us, a two-volume collection of Verse of the Day reflections that will soon be available from Amazon. Each entry opens the Scriptures with warmth, reverence, and practical insight, helping readers understand the context of God’s Word and apply its truth to daily life. Written in a pastoral and accessible style, these devotionals invite readers to slow down, listen for the voice of God in Scripture, and walk more faithfully in the grace, hope, and wisdom of Christ.

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The Bible texts are from the World English Bible (WEB), which is a Public Domain Modern English translation of the Holy Bible. The World English Bible is based on the American Standard Version (ASV) of the Holy Bible, first published in 1901, the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia Old Testament, and the Greek Majority Text New Testament. It is in draft form and is currently being edited for accuracy and readability. Verse of the Day is a daily inspirational and encouraging Bible verse, extracted from BibleGateway.com. Commentary by Kenny Sallee, ThM. All rights reserved.

Daily Devotions for Monday, June 1, 2026: The First Day of a New Season

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The Daily Devotional

Monday, June 1, 2026

The First Day of a New Season

“It is because of Yahweh’s loving kindnesses that we are not consumed, because his mercies don’t fail. They are new every morning. Great is your faithfulness.” — Lamentations 3:22–23

Reflection

There is something quietly holy about the first day of a new season. The calendar turns, the light changes, the heat begins to rise, and we sense that time is carrying us forward whether we feel ready or not. June arrives with longer days, warmer winds, memories to honor, responsibilities to shoulder, and opportunities to begin again. It is not only a change in weather. It can become a place of spiritual examination.

What kind of season am I entering?

That is not a small question. It asks us to look honestly at our hearts. Am I entering this season weary or hopeful? Distracted or attentive? Rooted or restless? Truthful or evasive? Courageous or afraid? Prepared or simply drifting? The beginning of a new month can become more than a date on the calendar. It can become an altar of surrender, a place where we pause before God and ask Him to lead us into the days ahead.

Lamentations 3:22–23 is often quoted for comfort, and rightly so. Yet its beauty becomes even deeper when we remember where it is found. These words do not rise from ease, prosperity, or uninterrupted peace. They come from the book of Lamentations, a book filled with sorrow, ruin, grief, and the painful consequences of human brokenness. Jerusalem had suffered devastation. The people were surrounded by loss. The prophet did not speak from a place where everything made sense. He spoke from the ashes.

And still, in the middle of sorrow, faith found words.

“Yahweh’s loving kindnesses indeed never cease.” Not because life was easy. Not because the wounds were imaginary. Not because the future was clear. But because God’s covenant mercy remained when everything else seemed shaken. His compassion did not fail, even when the city had fallen. His faithfulness did not disappear, even when the people were walking through grief.

That is what makes this Scripture so fitting for the first day of a new season. We do not enter new seasons with empty hands. We carry memories, responsibilities, regrets, hopes, questions, and sometimes wounds that have not fully healed. A new month does not erase yesterday. But it does remind us that yesterday does not have the final word. God’s mercies are not leftovers from some distant past. They are new every morning.

Think of someone preparing for the heat of summer. Before the day grows harsh, there is work to be done. Windows may be opened while the air is still cool. Animals need to be tended before the sun climbs high. Water troughs must be checked. Tools need to be gathered. A garden must be watered early, before the soil begins to dry beneath the heat. None of this work is dramatic. Much of it is ordinary. But it is wise. It is the kind of preparation that honors both the day and the season.

The same is true of the soul. We do not enter a new season well by pretending everything will be easy. We enter it faithfully by preparing our hearts before God. We check what has run dry. We tend what has been neglected. We open the windows of the soul and let the fresh mercy of God enter places that have grown stale with fear, bitterness, or fatigue. We ask what needs to be surrendered, what needs to be repaired, what needs to be strengthened, what needs to be remembered, and what needs to be received.

A new season is not entered well by mere optimism. Optimism may say, “Everything will be fine.” Faith says, “God will be faithful, whatever comes.” Optimism may depend on circumstances changing quickly. Faith is rooted in the character of God. It remembers that His compassion does not fail. It trusts that His mercy is not exhausted. It believes that His voice can still guide us, even when the path ahead is not fully visible.

So perhaps this first day of a new season gives us three simple questions to carry into prayer.

Where do I need God’s mercy today?

What responsibility must I face faithfully?

What step of obedience is God asking me to take?

These questions do not need to be answered loudly or publicly. They may be answered in the quiet of early morning, while the house is still, while the coffee is brewing, while the first light touches the window, or while the day’s work waits just beyond the door. God often meets us there, not with thunder, but with steady grace.

To name the place where we need mercy is not weakness. It is honesty. To face responsibility is not self-reliance. It is faithfulness. To take one step of obedience is not the same as knowing the whole road. It is trust.

As June begins, we are invited to walk forward with prepared hearts. Not perfect hearts. Not fearless hearts. Prepared hearts. Hearts rooted in mercy. Hearts guided by truth. Hearts strengthened by courage. Hearts attentive to the voice of God.

Whatever grief, failure, weariness, or uncertainty came with yesterday, it has not emptied the compassion of God. His loving kindnesses have not ceased. His faithfulness has not diminished. Morning has come again, and with it comes mercy enough for this day, grace enough for this step, and faithfulness enough for the season ahead.

Prayer

Faithful God, as we enter this new season, help us to begin with honest and prepared hearts. Teach us to receive Your mercy where we are weak, Your truth where we are uncertain, Your courage where we are afraid, and Your wisdom where we carry responsibility. Open our eyes to what needs to be surrendered, repaired, strengthened, remembered, and received. Keep us rooted in Your loving kindness, attentive to Your voice, and grateful for the compassion that is new every morning. Lead us into the days ahead with humility, steadiness, and trust, for great is Your faithfulness. Amen.

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Devotional by: Kenny Sallee, ThM — Deming, NM, USA

The Bible texts are from the World English Bible (WEB), which is a Public Domain Modern English translation of the Holy Bible. The World English Bible is based on the American Standard Version (ASV) of the Holy Bible, first published in 1901, the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia Old Testament, and the Greek Majority Text New Testament. It is in draft form and is currently being edited for accuracy and readability. All rights reserved.