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?”
Isaiah 43:18-19
Welcome to 2020 with its promise of new beginnings. You have to admit that there is something almost magical about the beginning of a New Year. It’s a time to cast off the old and embrace the new. It’s a chance to wipe off our imaginary slates and start over. It’s an opportunity to reset one’s vision, goals and aspirations and so much more, but if we’re being totally honest, many of us have tried this and failed miserably. Yes, those New Year resolutions often last as long as an ice-cream cone on a hot summer day.
Thank God, we serve a God who makes all things new; and yes, he makes old things new as well. In 2 Corinthians 5:17: Paul reminds the Corinthians, “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold the new has come (ESV). In Christ, the past is simply a pathway towards the future. God uses all our past failures and experiences to mold us anew. Nothing is wasted (John 6:12b).
In Isaiah 43, we find that the Israelites had already experienced a difficult and rebellious past, notwithstanding, God’s promise comes pulsing through the prophet Isaiah exhorting them to forget the past, and promising them a new beginning, “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 (Isaiah 43: 18-19)?” In other words, nothing beneficial will result from looking back. Lot’s wife tried it and she turned into a pillar of salt.
I don’t know what your past holds. I know I blew mine, again in 2019. 2020 is the chance I need to begin afresh. Perhaps you need this chance too. God himself promises to do a new thing, not just in the Israelites but in you and me as well. This means we don’t have to “try” to be good or holy, we simply need to seek after him and he will do a new thing is our hearts causing spiritual fruit to spring forth. So, I’m chasing after him, leaving behind, the hurts, irritations, disappointments and failures of yesterday and relinquishing the reins of my life to him completely. I can hardly wait to see what the new year will bring as I surrender to his leading and molding. How about you?
Dear Jesus, I surrender all that I am and all that I have to you. Give me the strength to let go of past hurts,
irritations, disappointments and failures. Help me to look forward as you do a new thing in me. I am completely yours. In your precious name I pray. Amen!