All Things New!

All things new….

Forget about what's 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! Making a road through the desert, rivers in the badlands. (Isaiah 43:18-19 MSG)

Let's break down this scripture.

Forget about what's happened.
Why is it we forget some things but remember other things? I recently read that our memories have a lose it or use it quality. The more the memory is thought about, chances are it won't be forgotten. God tells us to forget about old memories that are negative. Also, Paul told the Philippian church to forget about the past but to reach forward to what lies ahead and press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

Don't keep going over old history.
After watching a movie, a couple of times, we usually don't want to see it again, especially if it had a negative ending. In this scripture, God tells us to forget about what happened and don’t keep going over old negative history. It's irrelevant and not important or useful for the new direction that God wants to take us. Sometimes God allows the negative tapes of our past to play over and over because He still needs to purge something in us. Maybe it's forgiving someone or forgiving ourselves; possibly we still need healing, or we just need to pray and ask God to remove the past memory.

Be Alert, be Present.
The Bible tells us to be alert and of sober mind. When God says, "Be Alert", He is telling us to be watchful, keep our eyes open, be on guard, and don't be confused or double minded. "Being Present" is living in the now and not the past or a fantasy world. Being fully alert and present prepares us to see and hear the new things coming our way because we are focused on God and are not distracted.

I'm about to do something brand new.
Moses was commanded by God to lead the children of Israel out of Egypt into the Promised Land of Canaan. Egypt represented their past which was slavery. Canaan was their deliverance. It was a land flowing with milk and honey, which were the good and sweet things ahead for them. The trip to the Promised Land should have only taken 11 days, but instead it took 40 years. Because they took their eyes off the new things coming and focused on grumbling and complaining, the trip lasted another thirty-nine years and 354 days. Their hearts were not prepared to receive the good because they were too focused on the difficulty of their present circumstances.

It's bursting out! Don't you see it? There it is! Making a road through the desert, rivers in the badlands:
We can see and feel the new things coming our way...after we forget and stop rehearsing the past and focus on seeing our present and future as God sees it. When we trust that God is truly in control, not us, God begins to change our perspective. Our present trials become gifts because they are changing us for the better. Disappointments become opportunities for us to trust and grow our faith in God, and delays are God's protection for now. We understand that the past was only used to make us stronger and move us forward in God.