Isaiah 43:18-19
‘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?
I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.’
We serve a CREATOR. He is continually making things new. He is constantly creating and calling things into existence. He says he has made us into a NEW creation. The old is gone the new has come. Forget the former things. He is making us new. He renews our minds daily.
Our never-changing constant God is forever changing us.
Forget how God has encountered you in the past. He is doing a new thing.
Do not dwell on old seasons. He is doing a new thing.
Do not compare yourself to anyone else. He is doing new and different things.
Do not try to jump ahead or lag behind. He is doing new things today.
Do not wallow in your old sin. You are forgiven AND He is doing new things.
We are never going to understand the mind of our Creator. We can study history as much as we like, we can try to formulate an equation for experiencing the presence of the Lord, we can immerse ourselves in theology and become book smart but at the end of the day, we still will never be able to predict how He is going to work and move in our lives. As soon as you think you are getting close, He will do something new!
So now read what the Lord promises us. In Isaiah 43, this passage comes first, before the Lord declares that He is doing a new thing. I love how He gives us this promise first. We may not have security in what he is doing, but we have security in him.
Isaiah 43: 1-4
But now, this is what the Lord says-
He who created you, O Jacob,
He who formed you, O Israel:
‘Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
I have summoned you by name; you are mine.
When you pass through the waters,
I will be with you;
When you pass through the rivers,
They will not sweep over you.
When you walk through the fire,
You will not be burned;
The flames will not set you ablaze.
For I am the Lord, your God,
The Holy One of Israel, your Savior;
I give Egypt for your ransom,
Cush and Seba in your stead.
Since you are precious and honored in my sight,
And because I love you,
He has summoned you. He has chosen you. You WILL walk through trials. That is part of the cost of following Jesus, but he will never leave you. You are far too precious to him.
PS. read all of Isaiah 43 cuz it's sweeeeet!
