“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, The Holy Bible, ESV)
There is something uniquely refreshing about the chance to have a clean slate, to start over, and to begin again. It is very easy to spend incredible amounts of time and energy focusing on what was . . . what we did wrong . . . and how people have wronged us. Unfortunately, it is a part of life. Things happen. People hurt us, and we hurt people. We also hurt our Lord, Who loves us more than any human being ever can or will.
When God tells us to forget what was before—that He is doing something brand new, it is an opportunity to turn the page; to begin anew. The Apostle Paul says in Philippians 3:13-14:
“Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”
Paul understood that he was not there yet, but was working toward the goal.
When we have a clean slate . . . when we can start over, embracing the new that God has for us . . . knowing that He has promised to provide is extremely comforting and reassuring. Our past (and present) can cause us to feel like we are in a barren place without any water anywhere to satisfy our thirsty souls. No matter what we try, in these situations, nothing seems to work. We might feel alone, isolated, abandoned, and hopeless. But hope gets us up out of bed each and every day with the belief that something good can happen for us.
In Isaiah, God is challenging us to leave the past behind. This is not a call to NOT learn from our experiences, nor to deny those experiences exist, but, in this context, to trust HIM with our future . . . to trust HIM with today no matter how difficult it might be. He says, “. . . do you not perceive it?” He will make a way for you especially when it seems like there is no way.
Life can be hard, but life can also be beautiful. The two polar opposites of life go hand-in-hand. Know that the Lord will lead you to a place of safety, provision, peace, and blessings in Him. It might not always look like what we think it should be, but God’s love for us will always lead us to what is best. So, allow God to do a new thing within you, embracing and trusting the outcome completely to Him. Choose to accept his call to begin again. By choosing God’s plan for our lives, it will be well with our soul . . . Selah.