It takes courage to live your life. Look at all you've been through: sickness, heartache, disappointments, losses, betrayals... you name it. Still, there you stand. You are still living your own life. I wonder, how often do you think about your past with regret?
I'm learning that one of the greatest fears that we as human beings face is that our past will be repeated. When that kind of thinking bears fruit, we live in a constant state of dread. We dread the challenges of our past which translates into a fearful present. We may even ask questions such as, "What if I'm betrayed again? What if I open my heart just to suffer a worse heartache? What if I lose someone or something dear to me again?"
When these questions drive one's existence, everyone around them sense and suffer. Let's see how the word of God can offer us some assurance and hope in this area.
Isaiah 43 offers words of hope to a people with a past filled with great and terrible things. God reassures them of His magnificent power: "I, even I, am the LORD, and besides Me there is no savior." Verse 11.
I also love the fact that God knows the end from the beginning and is mighty in His actions "Indeed before the day was, I am He; and there is no one who can deliver out of My hand; I work, and who will reverse it?" Verse 13.
Regardless of the challenges of our past, God also invites us through this passage to experience a new existence with Him:
"Do not remember the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing, now it shall spring forth; shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness and rivers in the desert." Isaiah 43:18-19
In order to courageously take on God's invitation, it's important to:
• Throw that VHS tape away - our memories work as a VHS tape, replaying all our mistakes and suffering from the past. God invites you to throw that tape away (He certainly has because of His forgiveness and healing power) and not even consider it. In oder to embrace the new you need to forget the old.
• Open your Eyes to the New - God is up to something new and our eyes need to be open to see it. Once we forget the past, we are at a better place to perceive the new. I think it's important to actually be alert in oder to perceive and know the new God is bringing into our lives.
• Expect the Impossible - The habitat of rivers is not in deserts. Wilderness is not the place where you can find roads. God is pretty much saying, the new I'm bringing in your life is going to look naturally impossible but with Me, nothing (not even rivers in the desert!) shall be impossible.
You are living your own life. I wonder if you will throw away that VHS tape, open your eyes to God's New and Expect the Impossible?
P.S.: Today I thank God for literally doing the impossible for me. I am still trusting Him as I throw away some old VHS tapes that have been playing in my mind for years. I am so ready for God's new and to see the impossible!
Post a Comment