September 24, 2019
It is the great tendency of man to live in the past. We love to recall some of our “best days” when life was what we longed for life to be. As we get older, in fact, this increases. If we are not careful, we will find ourselves living there.
But God is not merely the God of the past. His mercies are “new every morning.” He has MORE.
A TESTIMONY
I have watched many men live on former glory, settling in to a nice, quiet—but sometimes unproductive—life. Lately, I have been asking God for “fresh oil” in my own life as I face the next season of ministry.
This morning, God reminded me of the posture we all must take and a promise we must believe. It was a very direct word to me for my life.
“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 … I have given waters in the wilderness and rivers in the desert, to give drink to My chosen people. The people who I formed for Myself will declare My praise.” (Isaiah 43:18-21)
MORE
God always has more. With Him there can be infinite expectations for He is infinite in His power and possibilities. For everyone who will pay the price (and there is a price) to lay aside other intimacies and draw near to the Lord, He will draw near to them. He has chosen us for Himself and He has nothing to gain by abandoning us to a mundane life.
How could we ever exhaust the Inexhaustible One? How could we think that there is not more of Him for us to discover? More glory to experience? More riches to find? More ministry to engage? More people to influence? He wants to use us increasingly, all the way to eternity and beyond. Each season has transitions and new facets of God’s glory. Each season has new means of ministry.
He has INCREASING, not LESSENING purposes for our lives. He will reveal more of Himself. He will open up new doors of ministry and service. The best days can be the days ahead if we will continue to pursue Him with intensity, believing that “He is and He is a rewarder of those who seek Him” (Hebrews 11:6).
And, the time is NOW. “NOW it will spring forth; will you not be aware of it?” He longs to make a “roadway in the wilderness, rivers in the desert” for those who pursue Him.
Lord, let me not live in the past! Deliver me from settling. Help me to believe you for “something new." Give me, like Caleb, fresh mountains to climb and hills to conquer. And give me empowering grace and increasing faith, as long as I live, for the journey.
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