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 wasteland.

TO PONDER

Our God is a creative God. Not only did he create the heavens and the earth, but he is still at work re-creating and making all things new.

I think sometimes Christians can forget that. We have a tendency to look back all the time an remember how things were. We get all nostalgic for the things of the past and often fail to pay attention to what God is doing here and now. We quite literally fail to perceive the new things God is doing.

Of course we should be aware of the past and learn from it and take the best bits but we can't be trying to recreate it all the time. Even if today feels like you are walking through a wasteland keep moving forward. God took the Israelites through the wilderness for 40 years before they arrived at the promised land and nearly every step of the way they complained and wished to be back in Egypt. It's true that the wilderness can be tough, but if you just keep trying to get back to where you were before the wilderness, you never arrive at the promised land God might be trying to lead you to.

Don't fear the new things God might be doing in your life, or in your church, or in your community. Pray and ask him to help you perceive and understand what he is doing. You might even ask if there is a role for you to play in this new thing God is up to.

PRAYER:Heavenly Father, You are the Lord and creator of all things. Help me to remember that I am not the one who decides how things are going to go but that you have all things, including my life in your hands. Help me to perceive the new things you are doing and to work with you to see your will done both in me and through me. Amen

Today's devotion written y Mathew von Stanke, LifeWay Newcastle