Isaiah 43: 18 – 21 (KJV)
Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old. Behold I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert. The beast of the field shall honor me, the dragons and the owls: because I give waters in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert, to give drink to my people, my chosen. This people have I formed for myself; they shall shew forth my praise.
A new year is already here and it promises to bring ‘new things’ for all of us which can come in so many different shapes and forms. From the time we are born we continuously experience ‘new things’ – from graduating to solids from our mother’s milk to taking our first steps, the first day of school to our last day of school, career, marriage, becoming a parent for the first time, sickness, losing someone close to you or even passing from this life to the next – life will always bring ‘new things’, sometimes good and sometimes bad, but whichever way we look at it, we are guaranteed the experience of ‘new things’ together with all the emotions.
The end of a season will always bring the start of a new chapter, a new beginning in God. God is the God of new beginnings and sometimes it is the unfolding events played out in the new beginning that brings healing to hurts suffered during the past season. God has an amazing way of using the ‘new thing’ to heal the wounds caused by those who hurt you or the pain of letting go of a season which brought you so much joy, – and so God says today, “Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old.”
If we cannot move on from the former thing and the things of old, we will get stuck in a season never ordained by God, a season of our own making which will never help us or benefit us and will only bring discontentment and even bitterness. If we get stuck in this valley of despair or anger, we will never move forward and upwards towards the mountain heights of ‘new things’ which God has pre-ordained for us. One thing I know for certain is that a ‘new thing’ in God will always be a good thing. The joy experienced when reaching the mountain height is far greater than the valley of despair. Where will your dwelling place be in 2021? Isn’t it time to move on and move forward?
Sometimes the ‘new thing’ that God is doing in our lives can be confusing and makes no sense at all, sometimes it doesn’t look so grand or exciting, sometimes it involves planting a seed in the ground which seems to be eternally dormant and you wonder what happened to the seed planted, but God says, “Focus on me, trust me and look ahead because what is in front of you is far greater than that which is behind you.”
Sometimes there is frustration in the ‘new thing’ and a waiting which requires patience especially when things look like they are going backwards rather than forwards, but God says, “Do not grow weary in doing what you are doing, do not give up because your patience in the waiting and your resting in Me, will have its perfect work.” (Galatians 6: 9; James 1: 4).
With “new things” there will always be new challenges, opposition and obstacles which we will face, but this is because we are living in a fallen and broken world. We as the children of God have a very real enemy who will bring to us his best fight to get us off focus, he will play with our minds to bring us to a place of despondency and weariness. If we give up then he will have won the battle and we will never see the fruit of our seeds planted. Our enemy relies on the fact that so many of God’s people don’t know or have forgotten that Jesus fought His best fight for us 2000 years ago at the cross. Jesus defeated the enemy and rendered him weapon-less (Colossians 2: 15). Therefore, our fight has already been fought and all we need to do is to stand in the victory which Christ paid for us to have making us more than conquerors in Christ Jesus. (Romans 8: 37).
Romans 8: 28 (KJV)
And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
God will always turn our challenges, our trials and the obstacles we face to good. When the enemy throws lemons in our face, God will take those lemons and make refreshing and divine lemonade for us. It is important to know that as a child of God, our heavenly Father is not the source of the bad things that creep up on us while we are on our journey, but He will take those things and work them to our good and our benefit because He is committed to our success in life. The enemy may cause bad things to happen in our lives illegally or we may have opened the door to him through our wrongdoing and sin, but never is our Heavenly Father the source of the bad things that happen to us. Some may tell you that all things will only work to your good and favor if you love God and you perform well. The bottom line is this – we love Him, because He first loved us (1 John 4: 19), and He loves you irrespective of who you are, your past and what you have done. His love for you is not based on your loving Him first or your good works! If you are a born- again child of God, then you have been called according to His purpose. You are His beloved. He will take what the enemy meant for harm and He will turn it to your good.
The “new thing” will require new steps of faith along the way, and sometimes some very bold steps. I believe that God is calling His church to new levels of faith to believe Him for bigger, better and greater things. I believe He is wanting to stretch His church in this coming year in calling those things that are not as if they are, calling those things that people declare as impossible, as possible in God. When we catch glimpses with our spiritual eyes of the “new thing” that God is doing in our lives, it will do a “new thing” in our hearts which will elevate us and embolden us to rise like the edifice upon the wings of eagles and become the church we are called to be, a church of power in the Holy Spirit through whom God will reveal His glory and goodness.
No matter how tough the journey may become at times, we must hold on and push through in faith until we see the evidence of what we are believing and hoping for to manifest.
God is doing a “new thing” in the world and as we stand firm, arm in arm, as the most powerful kingdom upon the earth, the army of God, believing God for great and miraculous things, we will cause a “new thing” to take place in the spiritual realm which will cause a great shaking upon the earth. Yes, multitudes of lost and broken people will kneel and confess that He, Jesus the Christ is Lord and Savior and multitudes will be added to the very long list of those whom Paul, the apostle, calls a “new creation”.
2 Corinthians 5: 17 (AMP)
Therefore if any person is (ingrafted) in Christ (the Messiah) he is a new creation (a new creature altogether); the old (previous moral and spiritual condition) has passed away. Behold, the fresh and new has come.
Yes, if you are a born-again child of God, spiritually you are a new creation. Your spirit man was awakened from death to a new life in Christ, a life that will encounter new paths and adventures in God. I believe as you commit to trusting and fully relying on God through this new year, you will see something amazing! Yes, you will encounter the miraculous where Papa God says to you, “I will make a way in your wilderness where you have not been able to see a way and I will cause rivers of joy in the Holy Spirit to rise in your heart which will overflow, flood and quench your desert season because I have chosen you, in Jesus Name.”
Until my next posting.
