Week 15
Isaiah 43:18-19 “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the desert.”
Sometimes looking back in life can give us wisdom. We learn from our mistakes, and we learn from our experiences, good and bad. But it is not healthy to dwell on the past.
It is amazing to realize that Christianity is a FORWARD MOVING belief system. Even though Christians look back to Christ’s incarnation, to His cross, to the resurrection, and to the ascension of Jesus Christ, yet we live out our faith with forwardness and anticipation of what God WILL do in days to come.
When the apostle Paul wrote Philippians 3, he urged the Philippian Christians to forget what is behind and to strain towards the mark of the high calling of God in the Lord Jesus Christ. Our eternal joy is not found in remembering the past but straining towards the future to claim the promises of God in human experience both now and forever.
The Scripture passage in Isaiah 43:18-19 is a gospel passage. It speaks to the people of God of His covenantal redemptive work in human history through the application of His salvation to God’s people who come to know the Messiah as Savior and Lord. God’s judgment of sin is real, but God calls to His repentant people to “forget the former things; do not dwell on the past.” To soak in the sad reflection of yesterday’s failures takes away all the joy of today. In redemption, God is doing a “new thing!” He is “making a way in the wilderness and (making) streams in the desert.” This is God’s saving work in the life experience of His people. Christians find that God chose us before the foundation of the world, Christ died for our sins on the cross, and the Holy Spirit is our superintendent to guide us and oversee our journey that we will make it safely to our destiny – heaven. Nothing in all the world can stop God from doing what He has designed and planned to do in saving His people. He began a good work in us, and He will continue it until the day of Christ (Philippians 1:6). He Himself takes on the responsibility to present us (His saved people) in His presence on that final day as those who are faultless with great joy (Jude 24).
Press on, dear brothers and sisters, do not allow yesterday to thwart your tomorrow. Inhale the promise of God’s redemption and march forth with love and faith to your heavenly goal. Soon the final day will come, and you will be released from your earthly bondage to soar to your heavenly home and eternal joy. Do not look back but press on; press on with all the gusto you can manage by God’s grace. Your home is just a little way down the road.
Prayer: Dear Lord, help me to look beyond yesterday’s failures and successes to see the coming joy of Your fulfilled saving promise in Christ. Fill me with gladness to pursue Your will.