Don't you see it? There it is! – Isaiah 43:18-19

18 "Forget about what's happened; don't keep going over old history.

19 Be alert, be present.  I'm about to do something brand-new.  It's bursting out! Don't you see it?  There it is!  I'm making a road through the desert, rivers in the badlands.

– Isaiah 43:18-19

Don't you see it?  There it is!

I used to dwell on the past – A LOT!  I was consumed with the things I didn’t do right and all the people whose fault it was that I wasn’t a more successful person.  For some reason, I had this weird thinking that the circumstances I was always finding myself in was never my fault – someone else was responsible.  I didn’t get the job because the hiring manager just didn't like me – never mind that I went to the interview in torn jeans and didn’t bother to completely fill out the application.  I found myself in trouble all the time because people just had it out for me – never mind that I had a problem with authority and did my best to have my own way.  I got divorced because my wife just didn’t get me – never mind that I was selfish, and critical, and cared more about my wants and needs than hers.  It was always something and it was always someone else’s fault.

Then I met Jesus!  He called me out and He told me “I’m about to do something brand new!”  I didn’t know what I was in for but it changed my life.  Oh sure, in those early years as a baby Christian I still looked back a lot.  I wasn’t blaming people any more, but I constantly looked back with regret at all my stupid mistakes and the mess that I had made of my life.  I played the “if only” game quite a bit and it used to get me pretty depressed.  It was a struggle because I was starting to see the goodness of God and the wonderful things He was opening my eyes to, but at the same time, I didn’t know how to look past the scars of my broken life.  After all, a lot of bad stuff happened to me when I was a kid, and I know that those events contributed to the miserable person I was before I met Christ.

Then I started learning about Grace.  God’s Grace and the way He puts the bad things of our past behind us and never looks at them again.  It took me a long time to fully grasp what that meant.  I started learning about the new mercies that were there for me EVERY DAY.  I learned that God will never look at me the way I look at myself.  I learned about things like Freedom and Victory and how to walk, every day in forgiveness – not only of others, but of myself as well.  Let’s face it, I make A LOT of mistakes but that’s just because I’m human – just like you.

Life is so much easier now, and my walk is so much more fruitful because every day when I get up, God is telling me "Be alert!  Be present in your own life! I’m getting ready to knock your socks off – do you see it yet?"  He is making nicely paved roads through my deserts, and He is sending rivers of living water my way so that I can face the day fully immersed in Love, and Hope, and Joy, and Peace, and Forgiveness, and the knowledge that no matter what I do, because I am walking with Him . . . He has my back!

If you are facing each day in regret, or if you are having a difficult time because your past keeps haunting you, then cry out to the God who LOVES you.  Grab onto Him and don’t let go.  Dig into His Word and invite the Holy Spirit to give you the strength you need – just for now –  just for today.  It gets easier and easier to throw away that rear-view mirror and start moving forward into Victory!

Prayer

Thank You Father for the wonderful way You surprise me each day.  Thank You for showing me that Your today is so much better than any of my yesterdays.  Thank You for believing in me and for calling me Yours.  Thank You Lord!

Have a blessed day everyone!

– Richard