The prophet Isaiah must have been surprised to hear the Lord say to his people, “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past.
See, I’m doing a new thing!”
On several occasions, Isaiah had heard God telling his people not to forget what he did for them in the past: “Remember the former things,” God instructed the people, “the things of old . . .” (Isaiah 46:9).
Former things
The former things included delivering his people from slavery and giving them the Promised Land.
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They must remember this, for God’s people must not forget his goodness.
Therefore, imagine the prophet’s surprise when now God told his people, “Forget the former things!”
But don’t miss the detail of what followed: “Do not dwell on the past” (Isaiah 43:18).
That’s it! While we remember God’s past deeds towards us, we must not “dwell” on them, remembering that God is in the business of doing new things.
We love to idealise the past. In soccer, we say, “We’ve won the AFCON four times!” In politics, we say, “Ghana was the first country south of the Sahara to gain independence.”
In commerce, we say, “We used to have railway lines, factories, and a national airline carrier.”
So what? It is good to remember, but better to move forward.
Louise Smith, the pioneering American race car driver, says, “You can’t reach for anything new if your hands are still full of yesterday’s junk.”
We need to let go of the past to embrace new opportunities.
A glimpse of God’s “new thing” is his promise to “make a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland” (Isaiah 43:19).
No matter how dismal our situation may be, God makes everything beautiful in its time.
Nostalgia
The Israelites suffered from nostalgia on their way to the Promised Land. Longing for the past weakened their forward march.
“Who will give us meat to eat?” they moaned.
“We remember the fish we ate freely in Egypt, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic!
But now our soul is dried up; there is nothing at all except this manna before our eyes!” (Numbers 11:5–6).
How could they say, “There is nothing except this manna”?
Their nostalgia blinded them to how God had graciously favoured them.
When we long for things of the past, we tend to become blind to current happenings, thus overlooking current blessings and future hope.
Hence, the Apostle Paul said, “Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward (my) goal . . .” (Philippians 3:13).
“Set new fires,” Christian revivalists have counselled believers, “instead of relying on the ashes of yesteryear’s fires.”
In other words, pursue fresh ideas, draw closer to God, seek new avenues to serve the Lord and revive the soul, instead of relishing in past glories.
We cannot erase the past, of course. But we study history to be guided by it, not to dwell on past events.
To position ourselves
God’s promise that he is doing a new thing resonates with us. As we bid goodbye to the past year and embrace the new year, we look forward to new blessings.
But to benefit from the new thing God is doing, we need to position ourselves to receive it.
And the lifestyles of people of God who benefited from his promises reveal a pattern we must emulate.
This pattern includes the exercise of faith—like Abraham, who, despite his advanced age, begot Isaac, the promised son. He demonstrated complete conviction that God could fulfil his promises.
Then we notice the pattern of prayer. In this new year, those who wait on God through prayer—like Hannah, who, despite being mocked as barren, became the mother of many children.
When the Lord instructs us to forget the former things and not dwell on them because he is doing a new thing, we must wait for the new thing prayerfully.
Other patterns
Another biblical pattern that should position us to receive the new thing God is doing this year is living a life of holiness and righteousness.
Sin always blemishes our relationship with God and triggers Isaiah 59:1–2 (paraphrased):
“The Lord’s hand is not so short that it cannot save, nor is his ear so dull that it cannot hear.
But our iniquities have made a separation between us and our God, and our sins have hidden his face from us so that he does not hear.”
Fortunately, no believer should remain in that condition when we fall, because God has graciously provided forgiveness for us through Jesus Christ our Saviour.
Genuine repentance guarantees restoration.
It is appropriate, therefore, to sing with minister Newlove Annan: “Yesterday is gone, another day has come; Lord, do something new in my life.”
Last year is gone; another year has come. Lord, do something new in our life, and help us to position ourselves to receive it.
