"Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
Isaiah 43:18&19
There is a wealth of direction and encouragement in this scripture. God is imploring us to understand that he is first of all, creative. He is always doing new things. He is offering us a spectacular future. All we have to do is see, perceive, and enter into the new things.
We must forget the former things. God does not want us to live in the past. I remember hearing a traveling preacher one time many years ago. The message was strong and impacting. Two years later, the preacher returned to our church. Although the words were slightly different, the message was exactly the same as two years before. the impact was minimal. I thought, what is new about this message? This man was still living on a revelation that came several years before.
We must be sure to build 'altars.' This means we must document and remember the things God has said. But we cannot continue to live in the same spot. Imagine what would have happened if the Israelites, being led by Moses, would have stopped and lived permanently in the desert after crossing the Red Sea. They had seen God do an incredible miracle, but if they had chosen to stay there, they would have lived for generations in the heart of the desert wilderness. But God had something better for them. He led them through the desert, performed many more miracles, and brought them into the promised land of Canaan. So, we must remember what God has done, but we cannot continue to live there. We must move into the new things that he is doing. He is leading us on a path of blessing that lasts a lifetime.
I challenge you today, to look at what God is doing in your life right now. Do you perceive it? Do you see the new things that are springing up around you? Don't live in the past. If you do, your relationship with God will be stuck in an old place. He is creating new things for you. Ask the Holy Spirit to show you these things and then allow God to permeate your life with his new creation for you. Do not dwell on the past, move on into the glorious present and future, that God is revealing to you.
It is hard to change but there are its benefits to change. Thanks for this awesome encouragement, to put away the old and put on the new. It's hard to get past that double bind sometimes, but his way is light.
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