Monday, August 25, 2014

Doing a New Thing


"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.” (Isaiah 43:18-19 NIV)

“I just fell back into being the person I used to be over the summer.”  This honest confession by a student recently is something I think we can all relate to—the spiritual fallback.  Seeing progress and growth, then, with a change of scenery or a life event, we fall back into acting like our old selves, the person we used to be before meeting Jesus.  It may happen quickly or be a slow slide back, and at some point we realize our position has shifted. 

This is a recurring theme in the Scriptures.  Abraham, Moses, David, and Peter, all outstanding men of God, each had their moments of retreat from the Lord. The Israelites, about whom the Lord is speaking in this passage, sometimes seemed in perpetual retreat. In each instance we see God receiving them back and enveloping them with His mercy and grace.   And to emphasize this point, Jesus tells the story of a rebellious son who is welcomed back into the family by his merciful father after wasting all that was given him (Luke 15:11-31).

When we fall back into our old ways, life can suddenly seem to be a wasteland—opportunities for growth lost and much time wasted on worthless activities.  And we are filled with guilt and shame.  Our instinct is to believe there is no way back, that we are stuck where we are, or if we head back in the right direction, things still will not be the same as they were before.   

But God is not who we instinctively picture Him to be.  He is very different. Instead of mulling over our sins, He is ready to move on, to start afresh.  Do not dwell on the past?  How hard that is!  Yet, this is our God. His focus is on the present and the future.  If you are willing to come along with Him, then the past is the past, never to be brought up again!

If you find yourself in a spiritual wasteland, know that with the beginning of this new day, you have the opportunity to start afresh.  The Lord is ready to do a new thing in your life.  Are you ready to let Him?

© Jim Musser 2014

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