As we begin to talk I would ask you, “At the perfect age you are now, do you have any regrets… any “what ifs”… any “what could have beens”… anything that you felt you could have, should have, would have done better… anything that has been like a heavy, overpacked suitcase that you have been carrying around with you here, there and everywhere?”
…And I’m Curious What Your Answer Would Be?
Darlin’ time has a way, especially the longer you have been here on earth, of taking us on a “past” journey, having us revisit the “former” days… looking back on things we did or said with some regret… questioning the decisions we made along the way… pondering those opportunities we may have missed due to our own fears, and inabilities… wondering if the best days are behind us… Have you ever been tempted to go there? If you have, then today, right now I want to encourage you with these life-changing words…
Release that Past & Move On!
Regretting the past, reliving the former days, rehearsing past mistakes can keep you from moving forward into the NEW that God has for you. We are always being called forward into the NEW day, New season, the NEW… In order to embrace the NEW you must release the old.
I am reminded of a beautiful Scripture passage in Isaiah 43:18-19 about Releasing the Past & Moving On. The Lord loved His people Israel and showed them His provisional care as their Redeemer. He delivered them from the bondage of Egypt, from their enemies, past failures and sins. He became their Savior. He encouraged them to fear not, for they were His and He knew them by name and redeemed them for a purpose… for a destiny… for a NEW season… and an abundant life in a NEW place which He had prepared, the Promised Land. He wanted them to leave behind the old mindsets, old memories, the yesterdays and yesteryears, so they could embrace the NEW. He then spoke to them these powerful life giving words…
“Do not remember the former things, Nor consider the things of old.
Behold, I will do a new thing,
Now it shall spring forth;
Shall you not know it?
I will even make a road in the wilderness
and rivers in the desert.”
God directly told His people to not remember, to not recall to mind, to not think of the former things, having them constantly arise back in their memory. Nor were they to consider, to carefully think about or contemplate those old things of the past that could leave great regret. He knew if they camped out in the former things they would never move forward into the NEW things He had for them… the new land… the new inheritance… the new memories to be made.
He then says to His people, “Behold” meaning look and see… “I will do a NEW thing, NOW it shall spring forth.” He was reassuring them that they could trust Him. He would guide them into the NEW life, the new future, that He had designed for them to live. He would rebuild those broken places. He would renew, restore, refresh all that they had perceived to have been lost, devoured or wasted. And then He gloriously says to them, “NOW it shall spring forth!” Not in the future, but today, NOW it shall be brought forth… and to settle it in their hearts He assures them He will even make a way for them where there seems to be no way. For He already made a clear path for them to walk out, for He was their Waymaker.
Beautiful One, oh how my heart is rejoicing in this beautiful word from God to His people… to you, His precious daughters. Like the Israelites, we too are the people of His purchase, those who are in Christ. He redeemed us from our land of Egypt, out of our bondage of past sins, past choices and past decisions. And when He delivers us from something, we don’t return to it. We leave it behind, and we step into the NEW. The new freedom found in an abundant life in Christ. The new days He has for us to walk in. The new Divine Appointments He has so beautifully orchestrated for our lives… we redeem the time and step into the NEW!
“Forget the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold I am doing a NEW thing and it shall spring forth.”
It takes unwavering faith in God and in His Word of Promise to move into the NEW. You must drop that heavy suitcase of the past, leaving it behind, and walk away from it… for there is no “return to sender label on it” because Honey you purposely ripped that label off! No more nursing, cursing or rehearsing the past. No more talking about what should have or might have beens or the do overs. The past is the past. Yesterday is gone.
God has a NEW THING for you. You have a destiny to fulfill. You have today to live out. Don’t look back. The One who has set you apart for a specific call, a unique work, He is the One who leads you into a NEW DAY, a NEW SEASON.
