By Shelly Burke
“Remember not the former things,
nor consider the things of old.
Behold, I am doing a new thing;
now it springs forth, do you not perceive
it?
I will make a way in the wilderness and
rivers in the desert.”
Isaiah 43:18-19
On this final day of 2013, what do you want to “remember not”?
·
Unkind words—said by you or to you
· A broken relationship
·
Bad decisions
·
Persistent sins
·
Regrets
In these verses God assures us that He can do a “new thing”
in us. My Bible study notes say that we should not forget the “former things”
but instead focus on the future. We cannot (and should not) ignore the “things
of old”—many, if not most of those things can teach us valuable lessons. However,
we cannot perceive the “new thing” God is doing unless we change our focus to
what is ahead.
No matter what you have done, God will forgive—all you have
to do is ask. He removes our sin “as far
as the east is from the west.” (Psalm 103:12).
And no matter what you are facing—an illness, financial
stress, relationship troubles, a crisis of faith—even when there appears to be
no possible path through it—God can “make
a way in the wilderness.” He can do the seemingly impossible—like make a
river in the dessert. Nothing is
impossible with Him.
And most importantly remember that no matter how difficult
the path, He is always, always with you (Matthew 28:20) and will never, ever leave you (Hebrews 13:5b).
What “new thing” is ahead for you in 2014?
