The Newness of Life

Scripture: Isaiah 43:18–19, NIV

“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’s Word is wonderful, telling us continually that he is in the renewal business. It is exciting being a Christian because we anticipate that God will always do something new and exciting in our life. Our responsibility is to place ourselves in a position so God can work through us. How do we do this?
First, we need to stop dwelling on the past. When we dwell on the past, it is like trying to drive a car always looking in the rear view mirror. There is nothing we can do about our past except to put aside the parts that pull us down, and to learn not to make the same mistakes in the future.
God is always moving. He is in the creation business. He is in the renewal business.
“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:10, ESV)
We are new creatures in Christ: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” (2 Corinthians 5:17, ESV)
If we walk in faith, he will provide “the way in the wilderness” and streams in the spiritual desert of this world. If we are sensitive to his leading we will recognize that he is in the process of doing a new thing in us and through us. When this happens, it is exciting to know we are in the center of God’s will.
“Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead…” (Philippians 3:12–13, NIV)
Today, ask yourself:

Do I dwell on my past, or am I looking for the new things that God wants to do in my life?