Over and out, with much love
The day came when I caved under the weight of my choice to leave ministry
and go to Ashley, and I was feeling completely broken, weak and incredibly
alone. But as I called out to God for comfort with tears streaming down my
face, I suddenly sensed I wasn’t alone at all. Peacefully, His presence
floated gently into mine, and a beautiful passage suddenly came to mind
from the book of Isaiah.
Isaiah 43:18 begins by saying, “But forget all that — it is nothing compared
to what I am going to do.” The Israelites were stuck in the past, remembering
their former captivity and the miracles God had done, yet fearing the new
freedom they now lived in. In Isaiah 43:19a, we see Him telling them why to
stop looking back and longing for what was gone: “For I am about to do
something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it?”
Here, the Lord encourages His
people to let go of the old and
embrace the new, even though this
new seemed scary and unfamiliar.
He wanted them to open their eyes
to see He was still at work and still
sovereign. By keeping their eyes
focused on the past, they were
blinded to the good new things He
was doing.
God knew this habit of sinking in
negative thoughts and feelings about
the past, present or future was
standing in the way of them
embracing the new with a positive
mindset — especially if they had no idea what that new was going to look
like.
As I prayed with this verse, I sensed He was giving me permission to stop
mourning the past and embrace the new with a heart full of faith and a mind
full of optimism.
I couldn’t change my circumstances, but I could change my thoughts about
them.
As you enter this new year, maybe like me, you’re also entering an
unfamiliar season of new in some way.
We all experience new seasons of life from time to time, with some being
positive and some negative; some wanted, and some unwanted; some
exciting and some terrifying.
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