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 steams in the wasteland
When we lived on the farm we had a large garden and the rich, black soil was a kid-magnet every spring. I’m not sure why, but when you tell kids – don’t go in there – that’s the first place they head.
One year in particular we’d had a lot of snow and it was melting fast. The kids wanted to play outside so I read them the riot act about staying away from the ditches, dugout and garden which were water-logged.
It wasn’t even 5 minutes later when I heard intense wailing. 3 kiddo’s were lined up and very stuck. In the garden. The oldest-little who’d forged the trail was farthest into the garden and when she realized how muddy it was, immediately tried to turn around and come out. Her feet and boots were no longer in the same place. The middle-little was a couple of steps behind her. She had fallen backwards and her bum was on the ground, boots stuck fast in the mud. Youngest-little was howling near the edge of the garden, face planted as he’d taken the first step and his boot stuck when trying to lift his leg to take another step.
Being stuck can be messy.
We know that hard things, bad things are difficult to get over but what about good things?
If you back up and read vs.16-17 of Isaiah 43 you see the Lord reminding the Israelite’s how he’d dealt with the Egyptians in a mighty display of his power and protection. Yet somehow they’re still stuck, they can’t move on.
So why remind them of a past victory in vs. 16-17 only to command them to let it go in vs. 18-19? Okay, God says, even though I saved you miraculously…
You.need.to.move.on.
Do not DWELL on the past! You’re stuck and you need to pull your feet out of the proverbial mud so you can keep going.
Sometimes I read the Bible and I can’t believe how foolish and blind the Israelite’s were until I realize their story depicts a broader human condition. I have trouble moving on as well, don’t you? Do you cry out to the Lord to restore what used to be? Me too.
Often what used to be isn’t good enough for God. He wants to do something better, more spectacular today! The miraculous doesn’t show up in something that’s already great. It seems to show up the dark and broken parts of our story so that the light of it shines brighter.
Here are 3 keys to unlocking God’s plan for your circumstance:
1. OPEN YOUR EYES
Dwelling on the past clouds our eyesight. Former glories and past failures become cataracts that hinder our ability to understand what the Lord is doing in our lives now.
That’s why he says “See, I am doing a new thing!” Let faith open your eyes! Right now, today he is at work in your life doing wonderful things and he wants you to know it beyond a shadow of a doubt!
It seems so basic but when we let our minds be muddied in the past we can’t focus clearly on the beauty and miracle of today. Ask the Lord to help open your eyes to the wonderful things at work in the middle of your difficult circumstance.
Pray with expectation and joy as his perfect plan unfolds in front of you. In spite of everything that has happened before now, open your eyes and search for the good things unfolding!
2. PERCEIVE WHAT HE IS DOING
After we open our eyes he then asks us to: Perceive
You see, opening our eyes isn’t a physical thing, it’s spiritual. Stop the physical mourning over the past and start spiritually focusing on the present. Something exciting is happening in your life today that he wants to share with you!
The situation that feels hopeless? Nope, not hopeless to him!
The circumstance that drags on? He’s dealing with it, his timing is perfect!
Stop longing for yesterday…back then…the way it used to be. Plain and simple – it isn’t working anymore. If you open your heart to something new the guarantee is that it will be better than the past was!
Does that mean that our past is not important and God doesn’t care about it? Of course not! It’s the dwelling there, the settling in and fluffing the cushions, the choice we’ve made to overstay our welcome that we’re being cautioned against.
Every circumstance is part of the fabric of our life-story but if we get caught up in just one place the rest of the story doesn’t get written. It goes wonky like a cheap t-shirt after the first wash.
Pray for discernment and understanding. Are there areas in your life that need a fresh touch from Jesus? Are there attitudes that need a reset? Discernment weighs out the intent of our hearts. It will bring to light all the uglies like pride and selfishness and will measure them against God’s truth. It will expose the areas of your difficult circumstance that you own and need to repair.
How the Lord loves a broken and contrite heart! He runs towards the humble with outstretched arms ready to restore them fully just like the prodigal son’s father in Luke 15. You’re ability to perceive the work the Lord is doing in your difficult circumstance is linked to the state of your own heart.
3. BELIEVE THE PROMISE
He is making a way in the desert, bringing life-giving water to the wasteland.
If you were lost in the desert, would you be able to find a path to safety? Not likely.
So we see supernatural intervention by a loving Heavenly Father who promises that if we let go of the past and put our trust in him, he will make a way.
Is the heat too much for him?
Are the sand dunes and dust storms more than he can handle?
NO!
Not only is he our personal guide through the barren desert we find ourselves in, he’s also our sustainer.
We need water to live both physically and spiritually. In the Bible water has always signified provision from God and here again we see that HE provides it for us. We can’t do things in our own strength or by the sheer force of our will. He makes the way. He provides the sustenance, the life.
Let’s pray together: Lord, open our eyes! We long to see you at work but feel so bogged down by all the things in the past that have kept us stuck. We ask you by the power of the Holy Spirit not to dwell on our yesterdays but to embrace the wonderful new life you are filling us with today. Forge the path that you want us to follow and fill our cups each day with the life-giving water of your Holy Spirit.