forget

“Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of the old. Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. The wild beasts will honor me, the jackals and the ostriches, for I give water in the wilderness, rivers in the desert, to give drink to my chosen people, the people whom I formed for myself that they might declare my praise.”

Isaiah 43:18-21 ESV

God wants us to fix our eyes on the new work He is doing.

When we fixate on the past, whether that’s our past mistakes, our past trials, our past labels, or past pains and sorrows, we can miss the new work God wants to do in and through us. We can miss the very grace He promises us which is that we are a new creation through Jesus (2 Cor 5:17). While this does not discredit any of the pain or growth we all go through, it is important to balance the old with the new.

During this time as Isaiah writes to Israel, Israel was in captivity and exiled to Babylon. He tells them to look to the past by remembering the great things God did for them at the Red Sea (Is 43:16-17), but also, “Not to call to mind the former things.” (Is 43:18). If they remained stuck in a disheartened and discouraged spirit, they would never look towards their release from exile.

In balancing these two scriptures we can see that God wants us to call upon our past as a testimony to the work and growth He has done in our lives, however, He does not want us to dwell on the negativity and discouragement of our past. If we are stuck in the failure, discouragement and sin of the past, then we cannot go forward to the new thing God has for us.

When we “do not call to mind the former things,” we give God permission to tell us who we are in His eyes. When we actively take every thought captive that comes against the mind of Christ, we give Him permission to tell us who we were all along as His sons and His daughters. When God makes us a promise, we have to get out of our own way and let Him fulfill it without worrying about the details or obstacles.

Let Him have His way in you today, beloved. Rest in the new creation He says you are and let Him fulfill the purpose He created you for. Let go of the past and surrender yourself to the promises of new through the grace of our Savior where He frees and equips you to be His vessel.

In joy, peace and love,
Riley Rae Baker

additional reading:

Old Testament: Proverbs 4:25, Job 17:9, Psalm 25:6-7
New Testament: Philippians 3:13-14, Romans 8:28

reflect:

In what ways are you “calling to mind the former things?” What old lies are you holding onto about yourself? What things of the past do you need to let go of? If Jesus were sitting in front of you, what would He tell you about yourself?

centering prayer:

LORD, give me the eyes to see myself the way you see me.
May I let go of the past and rest in the new creation you say I am. amen.