Happy New Year!

Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. (Psalm 43:18-19 ESV).

I nearly forgot to change the year on the date of today’s devotional! I guess I’ve become so accustomed to writing 2019 I nearly overlooked the new year’s date. That’s always true with “new” things. Our reading today is such an incredible promise from God. There are three things I want to highlight. Perhaps we’ll get back to each of them later in the year. Now, I want to merely make mention of them as you celebrate the year before you. The first is about forgetting. Without dwelling on the historical setting of Isaiah’s prophecy, let me simply say the people of Israel had a year they would very much like to leave behind them. I’ve had those kinds of years. There have been those times when illness or financial setbacks had left me with feelings of bewilderment. I’ve had times when I’ve wondered where God had gone. Fortunately I am now removed from those circumstances. They indeed “left a mark.” But none of those circumstances were bigger than God’s plan and purpose in my life. You may in the middle of one of those events. Forget the pain and trouble. Embrace the path before you. That brings us to the second truth. God is doing a new thing in your life. He is a God of the new. God begins His book with the story of His creating a new world; He ends it with His plans to make a new heaven and new earth. However, we’re like the Israelites when they were traveling in the wilderness. God sent their daily food by raining down bread from heaven six days a week. He instructed them to gather only enough manna for each day, except for the day before the Sabbath when they were allowed to store up two days’ worth. When some of the people disobeyed and tried to hoard extra manna, it became rotten and full of worms by the next morning. God wants to do new, fresh things in our lives. Too often we try to hold on to yesterday. We don’t want to let go of what is comfortable and familiar. Trust Him. The third truth follows: God will make a new way. Isn’t it strange how easily we drift into an independence from God. I am not suggesting that we have no responsibility in our future. I am saying the end result of our journey is already determined. Celebrate the truth that God has already secured your future. Regardless of the difficulty you may be facing, He is perfectly able to get you there. Forget the past, rest in the present, and take joy in your future. He will make the way for you!