“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.” – God
(Isaiah 43:18-19 NIV)
Wearily our world approaches the turning over of the year.
After the battering years of 2020 and 2021, it’s pretty normal to wonder, “What next?!” and approach 2022 with a feeling of trepidation.
Why would God tell us to “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past?” Probably because in times of strife and trouble it’s pretty easy to get stuck in the struggles of our circumstances.
We can find ourselves stuck in our anxiety, worries, fears, and so much more. The circumstances – and the feelings – are real. But God doesn’t want us to dwell on them – to be stuck in them – because he wants to show us what he is doing. He wants our “Eyes Up!”
When God says he’s doing a “new thing,” we may not be able to see it yet. But we have to trust in the character of our faithful, loving, omnipotent and omniscient God who will never leave us, forsake us, or lie to us. If he says he’s doing a “new thing,” he is.
If he says he’s making a way in the wilderness of our lives – the chaos, struggles, strife, and general craziness that have been so prevalent in these past two years – then he is.
If he says he’s bringing streams of Living Water – rivers in the desert – places of refreshment to dry parts of lives – then he is.
Yes, we have to have faith – confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we don’t see YET. But our faithful God IS bringing a way in the wilderness for the dry and weary places in our lives to be refreshed and restored in his presence.
Don’t see it yet in your own life? Maybe that’s why the prophet Isaiah asked his listeners: “Do you not perceive it?”
To “perceive” is to become aware or conscious of something, to come to realize or understand, to interpret or look on (someone or something) in a particular way.
Even if your life circumstances, your finances, your health, your feelings, your relationships – what seems like your entire life – seems to be in a state of chaos, is it possible to perceive God is working?
Yes.
It is possible to become conscious of ways in which God is moving. It is possible to realize and understand small, everyday miracles are a gift. It is possible to look at our world and our circumstances through a different lens – through a heart that says, “I don’t see the New Thing yet, but I will have faith and trust God for it. I will have my eyes up so I can see the ways in which God is giving us hope in the midst of despair, belief in a sea of doubt, and faith in the midst of fear.
I will raise my eyes up to the “mountain” of God’s protection, provision, healing, grace, and love. When my eyes are up and my focus is on God, then I can perceive what God wants me to know. And then I can see the streams of hope in the desert of despair.
Today, I will keep my eyes up!
Faithful God,
Thank you for the gifts of your goodness, your presence, and your grace in our lives. Thank you for your protection and provision for us, especially in these last two years. As our calendar turns over another year, help us to release the struggles, strife, worries, and fears of our past and to move forward in hope. Help us to perceive the new things you are doing in our lives and our world. Cause us to keep the eyes of our hearts focused on you and you alone. Help us to have faith and confidence in what you are doing, even if we don’t see it yet. Protect us from despair, doubt, and fear, and fill us with hope, belief, and faith. We pray in Jesus’s name, Amen!
“Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.”
(Hebrews 11:1 NIV)
1
I lift up my eyes to the mountains—
where does my help come from?
2
My help comes from the Lord,
the Maker of heaven and earth.
3
He will not let your foot slip—
he who watches over you will not slumber;
4
indeed, he who watches over Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.
5
The Lord watches over you—
the Lord is your shade at your right hand;
6
the sun will not harm you by day,
nor the moon by night.
7
The Lord will keep you from all harm—
he will watch over your life;
8
the Lord will watch over your coming and going
both now and forevermore.
(Psalm 121 NIV)