“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.” – Isaiah 43:18-19
There is an old adage that says, “be careful what you pray for.” Many times in life we pray to God asking Him to change our circumstances, to move us to the next level in our faith walk, to make changes in our lives, to end our season of despair, loneliness, hurt, frustration, and more. You know the prayers, “Father if you would just do…,” “Lord, release me from this…,” “God please change …”, the list goes on and on.
But when the Hand of God moves, do you?
Change in our lives can cause anxiety and fear as we face uncharted waters or look at unnavigated terrain ahead. A new state, a new job, newly married, newly widowed, a new family addition, new friends, new church, new school or a new chapter in your life. Change in the flesh can be unsettling.
So much so that though we have asked God for change in our lives, we stand still and don’t take the first step forward into the new thing God has called us into. We hesitate, question if it is really God leading us, we immobilize ourselves with over-thinking, doubt, fear, anxiety and more. We question our deliverance and cling to the familiar rather than boldly walking forward into the new life He has prepared for us.
When God is doing a new thing in your life, don’t question God, especially after praying for His deliverance in your situation. Don’t carry the things He has delivered you from into your new life. Don’t look back at what you are leaving behind or long for things of old, for in doing so you will block your blessing. Remember Lot’s wife? When God began the destruction of the city of Sodom and Gomorrah for all its sinfulness, He instructed Lot that he and his family should not look back upon the city as they fled the destruction. Lot so warned his family. But his wife, knowing that God was delivering them from the carnage and was doing a new thing in their lives, disobeyed the instructions and looked back upon the city they were running from. Upon doing so, she instantly turned into a pillar of salt!
God wants to do a new thing in your life, but we must be both open and willing to receive it. We cannot straddle the fence of His blessings trying to negotiate the how, when, where or why of the blessing or longing for a life, or person, or job, or material good that He has said to leave behind.
Imagine the disciples, casting of their former lives with no idea of what was ahead of them, or where they would sleep, or what they would eat or if they’d be welcomed or rebuked. What faith their lives serve to show us as a true example of trusting God for ALL things— even their daily portions!!
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?” –Matthew 6:25
Could you adhere to such a Word? Can you truly trust God for your ALL? Will you blindly go wherever He leads, without doubt, fear or question? If you pray to receive, will you openly trust and receive what He gives you, or where He sends you? Will you move forward to where He is leading you, trusting that He has made provisions for you upon your arrival? Or that that new job, new spouse, new friend, new town, new life is the next step in your faith walk?
Surrender to His Will and His Love for you and allow that Love to propel you forward to where He is taking you trusting and believing with each step that He is in control and He makes no mistakes. When overcome with apprehension, fear or doubt that immobilizes your next steps, fall to your knees and pray to the Father and ask that He strengthen you so that you can keep moving. The Word will empower and motivate you to keep moving, keep pressing forward so Read It, Study It and Commit It to memory!!!
Leave your past in the past. Don’t look back like Lot’s wife. God has something new and better waiting in front of you, Not behind you!!! So, Keep it moving.