looking forward

Do not call to mind the former things, or ponder things of the past. Behold, I will do something new, now it will spring forth; will you not be aware of it? I will even make a roadway in the wilderness, rivers in the desert. Isaiah 43:18-19

I’m not big on New Year’s resolutions. I never keep them. I always fall short and therefore feel like I’m setting myself up for failure. However, I do love fresh beginnings and the New Year is definitely a symbol of that. So instead of just a resolution for the new year, here’s one for life. I want to look forward to what God is going to do in all things. To praise Him in the hard times as well as the good because I know, according to His word, that He works it all together for good. I want to be excited to see how things turn out when at the present they may seem hopeless. I want to let go of my past sins the way He has and grasp on to the victory that Christ claimed on the cross and through his resurrection for me. I want to be teachable. I want to love more, and not just in the obvious ways. I want to love in the secret ways that bring me no praise from men.

I love this verse for many reasons. One is that I grew up in the desert. We’d often go out into the wilderness. From a distance it just looks barren, as if there are nothing but rocks. Yet when you walk through it you see the plants and signs of animal life. You ‘ll wander for a while and find an old pathway that leads through the mountains, and you know that someone else has been here. After a rain the washes run full of water and the ground is full of colorful flowers that have been dormant for years. It’s such a beautiful picture of how He can bring what appears dead to life. He really does make all things new. Let’s look forward together for those roadways in the wilderness and the rivers in the deserts.