Be Present

Isaiah 43:18-19

“Do not remember past events, pay no attention to things of old. Look, I am about to do something new; even now it is coming. Do you not see it? Indeed, I will make a way in the wilderness, rivers in the desert.”

We often see this verse used at the beginning of a new year because it gives hope of what could be forthcoming. As I read the verse for about the 1,000th time this morning, I saw something yet new that spoke to me. God’s Word is like that; the same verse you read one day may tell you something new the next time you read it. For this reason, the writer of Hebrews called it “alive and active.”

God’s instruction here is to pay no attention to past events. If we focus upon the past – hurts, failures or even successes, regrets, offenses, sorrow, etc. – we will miss what God is doing now in us. The Devil’s strategy is to get us distracted so we won’t see what God is doing right now. If he can make us yearn for what was or angry about what happened, we will miss the beauty of the right now. We must be present. God is making a way for you and for me in this wilderness we are called to walk. His path is not in our past; it is in front of us. To see it, we have to stop looking back.

I love the Message Bible translation: “Forget about what has happened; don’t keep going over old history. Be alert, be present. I’m about to do something brand new. It’s bursting out! Don’t you see it? There it is! I’m making a road through the desert, rivers in the badlands.

Turn your head from the past today and look forward into your future. What do you see bursting out at you? What road has God placed in front of you? What river of refreshing do you see in your own badlands? Let go of what used to be and what has hurt you, and embrace the new thing God is doing. Many of us don’t like change, but change is inevitable. The thing in our past that may hinder us most is the comfort zone it created for us. Let go of that thing, and step forth into the thing God is doing now. Your blessing is there for you today, not in your past. Be alert, be present. God doesn’t go backwards.

Have a blessed day!