Last night we attended Mission of Hope’s Saturday night Worship Service. When we arrived, I was pleasantly surprised to find out Pastor Barb was going to be giving the message, and one of my favorite worsip teams would be leading us in worship.
Pastor Barb’s message was so encouraging for me. It was based on Isaiah 43:16-19.
This is what God says, the God who builds a road right through the ocean, who carves a path through pounding waves, the God who summons horses and chariots and armies–they lie down and they can’t get up; they’re snuffed out like so many candles: “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?”
I am thankful God reminds us every now and then of what He has done for us in the past, and how He has taken care of us. That’s what he was doing through Isaiah for the people Israel in this scripture, in remindin them how God took them through the Red Sea and destroyed the armies that were pursuing the Israelites. We sometimes forget (or at least I do) the things He has done for us, the ways He has protected us, the situations He helped us through, the jams in life He has gotten us out of. We forget about how He has answered us when we called out to Him, how He calmed us when we were panicked, how He gave us rest when we needed it, and how He has been so faithful…even when we aren’t.
But then God says to forget about the past, and to be alert and in the present…He’s about to do something brand new! We don’t want to miss it! Two things catch my attention here…be aleart and in the present and He’s about to do something brand new!
I realized last night during Pastor Barb’s message that I’m not always alert and living the present…my mind can be off in a million different directions…thinking about what I should have done in the past, wishing things were going differently in the present, thinking about the future, etc. I need to be more in the present!
It’s hopeful to think about God doing something brand new! Pastor Barb said something to the fact of “don’t let yourself think that 2010 will be just another typical year…don’t let yourself go there. Expect that God will do something brand new in your life this year!” I caught myself thinking–maybe not consciously–but thinking that 2010 will be a continuation of 2009…just more busyness. But it doesn’t have to be so! I left the Mission last night with a different mind-set about the new year…”God is going to do something brand new in my life this year…and I’m excited and hopeful about it!”
What about you? Doesn’t it give you hope, knowing that God can do something brand new in your life this year? We just have to make sure we don’t miss it, by not being aleart or not being in the present. Expect it! Plan on it! Pastor Barb also suggested we schedule time with God this week…to seek Him, to search what His plans are for us this year, to be quiet before Him…and to set that appointment with God in our calendars. I have my date set for January 7 and 10am. 🙂
I’m now looking forward to this new year, even more than I was before. I hope after reading the above scripture, and thinking about God doing something brand new in your life this year, that you are too!
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