https://odb.org/MY/2021/09/17/move-your-fence
When the LORD spoke through Isaiah in Isaiah 43:18-21 to forget the former things and not to dwell in the past, He was not so much talking about Israel’s past failures or rebellious actions but their past successes. Don’t dwell too much on what God did with them in the past like the Red Sea experience, but focus on what He is doing among them now. The past has its good point as a monument, a reminder of God’s goodness in our lives. There are spiritual milestones we want to look back to remind ourselves of His greatness when we face doubts or difficult challenges in the present. They are good points of reference to jolt our memory of what God did and thus the past serves to encourage us that He can and will do the same again today and in the near future.
The past is a good reminder, an excellent monument but it is not a good place to dwell in. We mustn’t live in the past because we actually live in the present, and for the days to come. What we do today determines where we will go tomorrow. Yesterday may have led us to today but today is the stepping stone to tomorrow. That is why God said to the Israelites, “see I am doing a new thing!”. In other words, see the new thing I am doing now. That may include what He is calling us to now and we know the best way forward is always to see what lies ahead for us through the eyes of God which is like that of an eagle soaring high above the air and yet seeing something in sharp focus one mile ahead! There is a high level vision and yet with clarity of detail. Both are essential for our path to the future.
I think the message today is that as much as the past is a good encouragement and assurance to us that God was with us and thus will still be with us, we need to see what the future lies. Thus seek God’s vision on what He is doing in our midst that we may flow right in. See the new thing He is doing now. Forget the former things, don’t dwell in the past, meaning don’t stay in the past but the present. See what God is doing now and do that.
Just a side note that as the pandemic had confined most churches to Zoom meetings, the church must respond in a new way to the new normal especially on the lack of direct fellowship from Zoom. God is doing a new thing in our midst and God works even in this new normal, even amidst the raging pandemic. He is sovereign and in control. What is the new thing He is doing among us, in our families and our churches? Let us not live in the past but move on in the present for the sake of our future!
Ronnie's Thoughts 