“Do not cling to events of the past or dwell on what happened long ago. Watch for the new thing I am going to do. It is happening already—you can see it now!” (Isaiah 43:18-19 GNT)
When going through a trying season it’s not unusual for us, even as a believer, to recall a period when things were a lot better, and long for those days again. When I see an infant or young child, I hit the proverbial “rewind button” and recall the days when my kids were small. I think of all the ways I failed them and how I’d like to be given another opportunity to get it right. We get a case of the “if onlys…”
But what do we forfeit when we do that? We run the very real risk of missing the new thing that God is longing to do in, through, and on our behalf. We get so intent on having God bless what we’ve done or we’re now doing that we miss what He’s wanting to do.
Pastor Rick Warren said it this way: “How do you show God that you’re focused on the new things he’s doing? You pray, ‘God, help me to do what you’re blessing,’ instead of ‘God, bless what I’m doing.’ And when you do, you’ll be able to embrace the incredible things he is going to do next.”
What “new thing” is God seeking to do in your life? The “old” is so comfortable, routine, and predictable that we get stuck, never noticing that we’re no longer as effective as we once were. It’s not that God isn’t speaking; we’re just not listening. Have you ever stopped to consider how predictable Satan is? He uses the same tactics – lies, deception, giving us what we “want,” never bothering to change because we keep falling for them.
Consider, on the other hand, God’s ways. Think of Lamentations 3:22-23: “The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is His faithfulness; His mercies begin afresh each morning.” We’re so limited in our vocabulary we often find ourselves using the same words, offering the same requests, begging God to forgive the same sins over and over again. But you know what’s great about the Lord? Yes, of course, EVERYTHING! But something that speaks to me on a very personal level is this: Each day when I pray, in God’s heart and mind it’s as though I’m making those requests for the very first time.
A dear friend’s wife has early Alzheimer’s so she gets fixated on asking the same question over and over again. But rather than trying to correct her and make her remember, he lovingly answers her question each time as though it was the first time she’d asked it. I believe that’s how God hears us. He never tires of us asking because He understands how limited we are in seeing the new things He’s seeking to introduce into our lives.
We get fixated on what “worked” before, or on how God spoke or moved or taught, or ________ and you can fill in the blank. New is very hard for us sometimes. While intellectually we long for change, we’re so geared to stay the same change can become very difficult. Why do you think those with harmful addictions fight change? It’s often not that they don’t want to be better, they’d give most anything to be healed. They just can’t stand the withdrawals and the pain that accompanies that change.
Are you longing for what’s in the past? Ask the Lord to give you insight into what He’s doing today, but more to the point, ask Him to help you see what new thing He wants to do in and for YOU! I wish I could tell you I’m good at listening and submitting to the Lord’s new plans for me, but I still struggle.
In His daily mercies He’s helping me to see where I’m falling short, not like an angry father with a whip in his hand, but as the loving Father He is, steadying the “bike” ‘til I can balance myself. He’s gentle, kind, loving, and caring. He will walk every new step with you until you realize how wonderful His “new thing” for you really is.
Just trust Him and hang on tight! He’s got you!
Blessings, Ed 😊
Walking With Jesus 