Isaiah 43:18-19 (NIV)
“Forget the former things;
do not dwell on the past.
19 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.”
The past year has been difficult. The pandemic has brought so many changes, and especially changes we didn’t want. Over the past year, many people had to change their lifestyles as their income was reduced. Others lost a loved one and couldn’t have a funeral to celebrate their life. Parents have been stressed watching their children struggle with online learning.
LSA split near the end of 2018, and then there was a year plus of healing, and in 2020 the pandemic hit. During the pandemic, our new lead pastor arrived, but how do you adjust to a new pastor in the middle of a pandemic? Sometimes the church meets in person, sometimes online. How does a pastor get to know the congregation when he only sees some of them, and they have masks on, and have to leave quickly? Our past habits of attending church weekly, and meeting with friends there, has been totally topsy-turvy.
But as the number of people who are vaccinated rises, life looks like it has a chance to get back to “normal”. But is that “normal” where we are actually going? As we look at those verses in Isaiah, God tells us to forget the past, don’t dwell on it. God is doing a new thing!
“Forget the former things;
do not dwell on the past.
19 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.”
What does God want us to do as we face the future? One thing we can count on is God’s presence and guidance. God has plans for LSA. We need to be confident about that. We need to pray and listen for the Holy Spirit’s nudging. As we make plans for the future, we need to be willing to try new things, look for new people to get involved. We need to look ahead, not look back and wish for those years – and programs – when everything seemed to be going well in the past.
One new thing that is coming at LSA is Community Groups. We would like to see everyone be willing to join in a small group where we encourage and care for one another, where we grow in our personal relationship with God. Think and pray about it. Would you be willing to have a group meet in your home? Would you be willing to lead a group?
Soak in these verses from Isaiah:
“Forget the former things;
do not dwell on the past.
19 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.”
Our song for today is Promise Keeper by Hope Darst.