I’ve shared this verse before but heading into 2019 makes it seem appropriate to discuss it again.

Isaiah 43:18-19

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 desert and streams in the wasteland.

Without doing a thorough exegesis on this passage, I am going to suggest that this is the Lord speaking through Isaiah to the people of Israel about Jesus.

The people had turned away from the Lord and God is calling them back to Him. In order to deal with their disobedience, He is going to allow them to be taken into exile…away from their homes and their Temple.

All this, however, paves the way for the NEW thing that will make the dry ground fertile and the impassable suddenly travelable (where they could not go they would now be able to get to).

They had been released from exile WAAAAY back when by Moses and God had instructed them to always remember those days and what was done for them by Him.

They rememebered in word and song…but no longer in their hearts and actions.

This NEW THING He was going to do was going to surpass all that had been done and since forgotten….they would be changed as much as a landscape around them by what He was planning to do through Christ.

With a new year on me, I can’t help but think of how this verse can be applied to my life today..and perhaps yours as well.

Forget the former things and do not dwell on the past:

My BIG past I feel I released to the Lord and do not dwell as much on it as I used to- although it still is a massive part in who I have become today. But, we are also on the 10th Anniversary year of all that began our new lives…that causes serious reflection…

However, how about not dwelling on the more recent past? The last few years maybe? Or even just the last year?

I have already stated that my 2018 was a year of years…dwelling on it seems almost necessary.

But, is it productive to do so? Helpful?

What was happening in our lives in 2017 was radically changed in 2018…so what does that mean for 2019?

Anyone else feel that way?

That what happened last year dictates the direction that this year will take you?

A death in the family changes the direction of your life, doesn’t it?

A job loss or changes certainly changes the direction you thought you were going..

An illness impacts your direction- can you work, how much? is there surgery?chemo? Is your life on the line?

A divorce is a significant life change that alters the direction of both spouses, their children, and those around them who were a part of the union.

An addition to the family not only changes the dynamics in the home but also alters the direction those in the home were going becauae of their presence, abscence, past issues, and future concerns.

So…forget and don’t dwell.

Why?

Because I am doing a new thing…

I love the next verse because it says this new thing is going to SPRING UP.

Isn’t that a hopeful sounding statement??

It won’t ease in…it is going to SPRING UP!

You will notice it- without a doubt…can you not perceive it?

Have hope, my burdened friend- something that will bring life into your weary bones is coming!

What is it?

I don’t know…I have no idea what it could be in my own life either!

But that is what hope is all about, isn’t it? Believing in what you can’t see is faith…and we don’t hope for what we already have…

We need to have faith to believe in hope!

This new thing will bring nourishment (streams- fresh water- into a wasteland) and will carve a new path for you to follow (making a way in the dry, lonely, desolate,dangerous desert).

I can’t possibly travel a new path if I am focusing- dwelling– on the old one, can I?

If all I am doing is remembering the way things used to be I am not going to be open to seeing the new thing that is better…

The Lord always brings something better when we trust Him…He brings us comfort in our sorrow, counsel in our confusion, peace in our suffering, hope for our tomorrow…

What will 2019 be like?

Well…2018 certainly was not like 2017 so I can imagine that this year will continue to change into a new thing as well..

That brings me hope.