Forget the Past and Look Ahead to New Things
"Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past.
It is nothing compared to what I am going to do. For I am about to do something new.
See, I have already begun! Do you not see it?
I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland.
The wild animals in the field will thank Me, the jackals and the owls, too, for giving them water in the desert.
Yes, I will make rivers in the dry wasteland so my chosen people can be refreshed."
Isaiah 43: 18-20 (NIV/NLT)
It is nothing compared to what I am going to do. For I am about to do something new.
See, I have already begun! Do you not see it?
I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland.
The wild animals in the field will thank Me, the jackals and the owls, too, for giving them water in the desert.
Yes, I will make rivers in the dry wasteland so my chosen people can be refreshed."
Isaiah 43: 18-20 (NIV/NLT)
What an encouraging word from the lips of God!
Prior to uttering those words, God had reminded the Israelites about the incredible miracles He worked to rescue them from Egypt. He talked about the parting of the Red Sea. He talked about how He enticed and drowned the horses and chariots of Pharaoh. By all accounts, that is one of the most astonishing displays of God's power in the entire Bible.
Yet, incredibly, God speaks to the Israelites about the new wonderful things He has for them.
He tells Israel to forget those amazing miracles of the past, and look ahead to the new things He is about to do! Interestingly, He reminds them that those new things have already begun. God is actually surprised that His children were oblivious to those new things! So, He poses the question: "Do you not see it?"
God is neither stagnant nor locked up in the past. He has plans beyond our imagination. That is why the Scriptures say, "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love Him." But it was to us that God revealed these things by His Spirit. (I Cor. 2:9-10, NLT).
Don't be stuck in what God did in past years! Thank God for the wonderful things in your past, but don't limit Him by dwelling on the past. God is dynamic in His workings. He is constantly desirous of doing new and bigger things. His word still stands: "Call unto Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know." (Jeremiah 33:3, NKJV)
God wants your latter end to be more glorious than your beginning. Your past should never be brighter than your future! His past workings are nothing compared to the new and wonderful things He has in store for you. The best is yet to come.
Forget the past and look ahead to the future with excitement and anticipation.
Prior to uttering those words, God had reminded the Israelites about the incredible miracles He worked to rescue them from Egypt. He talked about the parting of the Red Sea. He talked about how He enticed and drowned the horses and chariots of Pharaoh. By all accounts, that is one of the most astonishing displays of God's power in the entire Bible.
Yet, incredibly, God speaks to the Israelites about the new wonderful things He has for them.
He tells Israel to forget those amazing miracles of the past, and look ahead to the new things He is about to do! Interestingly, He reminds them that those new things have already begun. God is actually surprised that His children were oblivious to those new things! So, He poses the question: "Do you not see it?"
God is neither stagnant nor locked up in the past. He has plans beyond our imagination. That is why the Scriptures say, "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love Him." But it was to us that God revealed these things by His Spirit. (I Cor. 2:9-10, NLT).
Don't be stuck in what God did in past years! Thank God for the wonderful things in your past, but don't limit Him by dwelling on the past. God is dynamic in His workings. He is constantly desirous of doing new and bigger things. His word still stands: "Call unto Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know." (Jeremiah 33:3, NKJV)
God wants your latter end to be more glorious than your beginning. Your past should never be brighter than your future! His past workings are nothing compared to the new and wonderful things He has in store for you. The best is yet to come.
Forget the past and look ahead to the future with excitement and anticipation.
Prayer: Father, I am very grateful for the blessings of the past. But please help me to look ahead with faith and a spirit of expectancy as I move ahead into the future with you. Amen.