Monday, May 23, 2016

A New Thing SPRINGS UP!

“Forget the former things;
    do not dwell on the past.
19 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.
20 The wild animals honor me,
    the jackals and the owls,
because I provide water in the wilderness
    and streams in the wasteland,

to give drink to my people, my chosen,
21     the people I formed for myself
    that they may proclaim my praise

Often we understand God’s forgiveness, but deep down we don’t receive it; we hold on to our past and allow it to keep defining us.  The truth is that we are called to not dwell there, but we hear voices from others and ourselves like “past performance determines future behavior” or "you will always be that way, so just accept it".

So, what do we do, we stew there, we get stuck in the muck like ‘quick sand’.  I remember a time with my brothers when we were crossing a dried up riverbed (or so we thought!) and then I started to sink….fast!  It wasn’t until I reached out and received the branch that my brother was extending to me that I was able to get out of that mess.  The same is true in the life of a Jesus’ follower.  I need to actually receive the forgiveness that my Heavenly Father is extending to me.  When I do that, it means a shift of focus to look forward and not back, to press on to the high calling that Jesus has for me.

Philippians 3:12 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. 13 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, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.



There is a preferred future, a place of victory, a place of greater strength and resolve.  The question is do we realize it or better, do we perceive it as Isaiah points the question?  God was doing a new thing then and He is still doing a new thing now, and we are a new creation.  The old is gone and the new has come!  It springs up like the Holy Spirit flowing through us like living water and the greater control we extend to Him, the more He empowers and transforms us.  The well that we need to be drinking from is the everlasting love, strength and provision of the Holy Spirit.  Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom! 

In order to move forward we can’t be stuck in the past, we can’t be asking the “what if” questions.  It’s time for the “what’s now” question and the desire to say, do it in me, Lord!  He loves when we ask and He loves to answer those prayers!

Remember too as Crystal McDowell has said, “Satan is the mastermind of bringing our past mistakes to the forefront of our thoughts. He tends to remind us right before we are ready to take steps of faith.”

Practically it was great to hear how one of the guys we worked with spoke of his own focus on God doing a new thing in Him and how he is walking in newness.  For him, it meant a move to a new city, getting involved in Celebrate Recovery there and starting a worship band for those gathered on those nights.  He entered a rehab program for six months and leaned on a friend that was at Teen Challenge with him.  He spoke of renewing His mind through Scripture, filling his heart with worship music and trusting in the power of the Holy Spirit to transform him. 


My prayer is that you will receive God’s forgiveness and trust in the power of the Holy Spirit to do a new thing in you today and everyday!