Have you ever gotten caught up in a season of life where you feel like nothing ever changes? Have you ever felt disappointed due to thoughts that you should be somewhere different or doing something different than you are right now? Have you ever felt shameful of your progress, wondering why you haven’t achieved more, healed more, etc.?
I think we have all been there at one point or another. This week I have been mediating on this verse found in Isaiah:
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! I’m making a road through the desert, rivers in the badlands (Isa. 43:19 MSG).
This verse highlights a truth that I often need to hear. Focusing on the past keeps us stuck. Keeping our eyes fixed on past failures, lost opportunities, and mistakes bonds us to the past and keeps us from seeing the new thing God is doing right in front of us. Letting go of the past is not easy. If you are anything like me, at one point or another, you may have believed that the only way to grow and to learn from your mistakes was to continually beat yourself up for them, so you can be reassured you will never do that again. On the contrary, this repetitious rehearsal of past events keeps us mentally, emotionally, and sometimes physically stuck wherever we were back then. The only way to move forward is to let. it. go.
I think this verse also holds another powerful truth. New is happening all around us and God is always doing a new thing, we just aren’t always aware of it. Why is that? The new thing God is doing may not take on the form or shape we thought it would. Or it may be happening more gradually than what we expected. Unfortunately, things don’t always happen as quickly (or dramatically), as we would like. A plant grows under the soil for a time before we see it emerge from the dirt, but all that time it’s still growing. Other times we are dealing with misplaced focus. We become so fixated on looking for change in one area of our life that we dismiss or minimize what God is doing everywhere else.
This week, hear God’s call to adjust your focus. Know that He is doing something new, even if you haven’t quite detected it yet. Look ahead and allow yourself to be fully alert and present in the moment. Ask God to realign your vision so you can see even the smallest beginnings of change and thank Him for it. Allow things to take time. Allow yourself to take the time you need to heal and grow. Remember that things like healing and growth aren’t a one-size fits all progress. Learn to appreciate each step along the way and learn to see God’s hand at work in each step.
New things are bursting forth. Don’t miss it.
