Something new

"Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old." Isaiah 43:18

Good morning, dear friends,

I'd just like to make a clarification before I start today's post.

I do not have a bucket list.

Don't get me wrong, if you are a bucket list person, that is fine with me.  I do not tend to think of my life in terms of things that I need to do before I leave this earth.  There are certainly things that I would enjoy doing, if the Lord permits, but not the urge to check off random activities before I die.  I tend to think of things that I tell myself, "If I ever get the chance, I would love to..."

Yesterday, I got to do one of those things.

My dad is, among his other talents, a builder, and loves to make things.  He created our dining room table, built our bunk beds, and built decks around our house while I was growing up.  He even built a storage shed outside to hold all our extra "stuff" that didn't fit in the house.  I loved to be Dad's "step and fetch it," and to this day, I remember holding the chalk line, pounding in crooked nails, and holding boards in place as he nailed or screwed them in.  There was one thing that I never got to do, though:

Play with concrete.

Yesterday, I did.  OK, in all fairness, my husband mixed it up, but I got to put it in place, to hold up some wood borders next to our concrete steps.  I have no idea how well it's going to hold, or if I will eventually have to restart the whole thing again, but I did it.

And it was FUN!

I used to hate trying new things!  What if I failed?  What if I made things worse?  What if I made a fool of myself in the process?  Maybe I am growing up a little bit--finally--but those things don't seem to bother me as much anymore.  There are few things in life that if I "fail", or "make worse," that cannot be fixed.  If I make a fool of myself, well, at least people will know how to pray for me for next time.

Yesterday, as I was thinking about trying out "new things," I read an interesting passage in Isaiah 43, where the Lord is encouraging the people of Israel to look to Him and to the future:

"Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old.  Behold, I will do a new thing; now shall it spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert." (Isaiah 43:18-20)

God is encouraging His rebellious people in this chapter to turn to Him for the future.  His promises to guide them through dangers (Isaiah 43:1-2), if they will turn to Him in the midst of their problems (Isaiah 43:3-9).  He reminds them that they are His witnesses to His great works that He has done on their behalf, even as far back as His deliverance of His people from Egypt. (Isaiah 43:10-17) What He has done for them in the past, He will continue to do for them in the future.

The first part of verse eighteen in my French Bible reads, "Don't think anymore about past events..." Leave the past in the past, it reads.  I know my past is there, but I don't need to wallow in it.  I need to be looking toward Christ, and the promises He gives for "new things" in my future.

The children of Israel had their past to remind them of past victories, but also their past sins and failures.  I also am reminded that though the "old things" in my life are there, I am called to new things as well:

'Therefore if any man be in Christ, He is a new creature.  Old things are passed away, behold all things are become new." (II Corinthians 5:17)

God also promises new hope to His children, if they will trust in Him!  This passage about the "new things" that God would do for the children of Israel ends with a promise: "I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins." (Isaiah 43:25)

Through Christ, I have access to this promise as well.  My sins were placed on Christ.  These old things are "passed away," never to be remembered any more.

I am so thankful for the "newness of life" that God granted me through forgiveness of my sin.  If there were ever an "eternal bucket list," that should definitely top the list:  to be a new creature in Christ.

As I live my day today, may I be constantly reminded of all the new blessings that I enjoy today, because of my relationship with God.

May I encourage others, today, to "try something new," as well.