The Lodestar

We should always be thankful to God for all he has done for us, as the Psalmist says, "Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits" (Psalms 103:2). If that is true, then it reassures us to read God's command, "Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old." This command is not to diminish the past but to emphasise God's future in store for us.

While it is crucial to praise God for the blessings in the past, doing so can sometimes limit our view of His power. Isaiah speaks to a people who have been defeated by their political enemies, living in exile, and hoping to return to their land one day. Their hope for restoration is based on what God has done for them in the past—the Exodus, when God delivered their ancestors from the bondage of the Egyptian empire. God led them through the wilderness, providing for forty years, and blessed them with the occupation of Canaan, peace, and prosperity. They hoped that if God could favour them in the past, He would do it again. So, they waited for a new Exodus, a repeat of history, this time from the Babylonian captivity.

But God challenges them to experience something more exciting than he did in the past. What God offers to do in the future will outwit what he had done in the past. He calls them to update their experience of him, not by polishing the old ones, but by getting ready for the future far greater than the past. So, he declares, "I am doing a new thing." It will be far more splendid if you have no time to cherish the memories of the past. This call is not just a suggestion but a challenge to step out of our comfort zones and embrace the new things God is doing.

Each day, we should roll out of bed with anticipation, expecting God to surprise us with things we have never seen before because he is a living God. This anticipation is not just a dream but a firm belief in God's continuous blessings.