Daily Devotional

God loves to do new things. He sent Jesus Christ to the cross to die for the sins of the world so that those who believe in Him, accept Him, and follow Him, can be made new (2 Cor.5:17). Who doesn’t like new things? New house, new cars, new friends.  

Isaiah 43:18-19 – “Do not call to mind the former things, Or ponder things of the past. Behold, I will do something new, Now it will spring forth; Will you not be aware of it? I will even make a roadway in the wilderness, Rivers in the desert."

We serve a God who offers us a fresh start, yet so many of us are held captive by our past. Regrets for words we used, tempers we displayed, and behaviors we exhibited. And we live in a world that won’t let us change. Our reputation can follow us through social media and the internet. Unflattering pictures are still out there. Negative reviews on a business venture. People who have posted negative, but true, things about you. Even though those things are no longer true about you, people still remember it, and it follows you. 

God says, “Do not call to mind the former things…” Don’t dwell on the past. Don’t live in the past. It might be past mistakes or problems. Or it could include trying to recapture something that was perceived to be good from years ago. When I became Senior Pastor of my church in Minnesota, right out of the gates everyone was telling me, “We used to be a church of 1500, now we only have 800. We’ve got to go back to doing things the way we used to do them so we can build back up to 1500.” I said, “We can certainly look at the philosophy of ministry back in those days, and prayerfully consider some changes. But just because we start doing things exactly the way we used to do them doesn’t mean we will grow back to 1500, or that should even be our goal.” 

“Behold, I will do something new.” I love that word “Behold”. The Lord is inviting us to look at how He is working. Look at the new things He’s doing. Then He says “Now it will spring forth…” So it is growing. God loves doing new things. And He prepares for it by making a roadway in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. He gives life to dead stuff. He brings new to old stuff. 

Instead of asking God to revive the ‘glory days’ when you were comfortable and satisfied, stop dwelling on the past and look at what God is doing today. God loves to restore the wandering soul. He loves to create new ways. I’m trying to pray in new ways for our church. I know God is at work. And I know He is doing a new thing. There’s nothing wrong with celebrating the faithfulness of God in past days and the rich heritage He has given us. But we have to remember we have a forward-thinking God. He is doing something new. And we want to be working where God is working.

It’s easy to get bogged down in our Christian life by dwelling on regrets and past mistakes. But that’s not where we stay. Perhaps you are in a sort of ‘desert’ spiritually right now. Pray. Meditate on Scripture. Spend time worshiping to great worship songs and hymns. Surround yourself with Godly men and women who are for you, who want to see you grow spiritually, who are willing to hold you accountable to a life of godliness. And pray for God to create that river through the desert of your life. And He will. Ask God to give you eyes to see what He is doing, and get on board. He is at work in your life and in the life of our church. Let go.

New American Standard Bible (NASB)
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