The New Thing!

"The Lord says, 'Forget what happened before, and do not think about the past.  Look at the new thing I am going to do.  It is already happening.  Don't you see see it?'"  Is. 43:18-19 CEV

It may be a cliche for some to think about how one might do things differently in the new year.  Some may be jaded regarding making New Year's resolutions, because of failed attempts to keep their resolve in the past.

Suffice it to say, I'm sure that there is not one person who would say that nothing in their life needs to change or be improved.  It is not a secret, that failures and wrong turns in the past often contribute to the desire to make changes, and it is those same failures and wrong turns that can make one reticent about making change for fear of repeating past mistakes.  I can recall times where I dived head first into trying to change things to make up for past mistakes and didn't think about the changes that really needed to be made to ensure a measure of success.  And then there were other times when I resolved to do things differently, at least in mind, but was so discouraged by past failures, that the thought of making resolutions-'out loud' through my actions was absolutely terrifying!

Through the prophet Isaiah, we get God's view on the situation of moving forward. God instructs the people to forget what happened before; to forget the past and not even think about it.  In Isaiah's time and in the context of what was written, the Israelites had once again become oppressed.  And in these two verses, God commanded them not the hold on to thoughts of what happened in the past, because He had a plan for something new!  Though God had delivered them time and time again, He promised that He would do a new thing!  The past miracles were nothing compared to what God would do for His people in the present and future.

Here's very real talk: God knows how much of a screw-up you really are!  Whether you admit your flaws or not; He knows who we really are!  And yet, in His wonderful grace, despite our shortcomings, God gives us an opportunity to forget what has happened in the past; forget the mistakes, forget the wrong moves-the wrong turns, and the missteps!  We do not have to allow our yesterdays hold hostage the potential for today and tomorrow!

God's got a new thing going on!

Blessings!