The New!

The New!

“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 wilderness and streams in the wasteland. Isaiah 43:18‭-‬19 NIV

It is quite convenient to look at the two verses above and claim them as they are, but the context of the verses may even help to further understand the amazing messages in these two verses. God had punished Israel and Judah for their sins. He handed them over to their enemies, who plundered them, yet God said His people did not seem to learn anything. Yet, for no other reason except God's mercy, God turned around and had pity on His people. He sent a word for their deliverance. It was not as if Israel and Judah had fully realized the error of their ways, but remembered His covenant with Abraham, and his mercy was activated. This is the season for God's mercy; if He were to deal with us according to our ways, not many of us can stand. Sin is bondage; God's mercy has provided a way of escape for us: Jesus Christ.

God sends his Word of encouragement as well as restoration. The enemies who had attacked Israel would become captives themselves; men who had taken pride in their achievements and accomplishments will become fugitives. With God, there is really no room for pride or a sense of personal accomplishment. There is nothing a man has that He has not been given. There is nothing a man becomes that He has not been made so by God. So, God takes pains to explain to Israel and Judah who He is, in the event that they had forgotten. He recounts all the things he had done for them in the past: deliverance from Babylon, even the events around the Red Sea and the destruction of mighty Egypt at the time. He is the same God who did those things, and He is asking me to remember these things. However, that is not where the message ends.

As mighty as these things are, God asks me to forget them. As amazing as they are, God seems to be saying to me: 'They belong to the past.' The enemy of future testimonies can be the amazing present. We can be so focused on the mighty things God has done in the past, or even the amazing things that are happening presently, that we do not perceive what He wants us to see as touching the future. God is saying to me: 'No matter what you think you have seen now, it is nothing compared to what I have in store for you in the immediate future'. He is saying that I do not have to wait long to see it, as He is already at work doing it. Do not dwell on the past; it is limiting and distracting. Forget whatever is in the past; I am at work in the present, and laying the groundwork for the testimonies that will manifest shortly. What is it that I am hearing God say to me? What work does He want me to focus on NOW?

He gives an insight into the amazing work that He is doing now. The places that could never support streams will now have them flowing in abundance. Places that men had abandoned and called wilderness would now have pathways leading to them. This means that there will be things happening in the wilderness and the wastelands that will draw men there. One thing that is clear with God is that location is not as important as His presence. Wherever He is at work, no matter how dry it starts, will become a flourishing place. Wherever God is at work, change must happen. Are there dry areas of my life at the moment, and am I trusting God for a change? The secret is in holding on to and trusting the word for this season. He is at work; change has come, and access is only by His son Jesus. Would you let Him work? God's time of favour is here.