Focused Forward
“Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?” (Isaiah 43:18-19a)
Each January, we usually find our thoughts drifting toward the exciting plans (or even “New Year’s resolutions”) we would like to pursue in the new year. But this year feels so different. To be honest with you, a lot about the year 2020 (with it’s widely advertised “perfect vision”) really wore me out. Maybe it had that effect on you too. And quite frankly, it is so very tempting to dwell on all those things. When I find my mind ruminating on “the former things,” it’s not long before I start to long for the way things used to be. You know—like the time before people argued so much about COVID-19… back when you could hear the joyful sounds of handbells or a choir’s anthem reverberating in our Sanctuary on a Sunday morning… so many months ago when things used to be so simple… so normal… so familiar...
Here at the intersection of “last year” and this “new year” I find myself wondering what God wants me to wonder about. As I’ve been praying about this, the Holy Spirit brought several verses of Scripture to my mind. Three of these are printed here as part of this article, and I would encourage you to let the Lord guide you also through these pieces of His inspired Word.
The text at the top of this page comes from the prophet Isaiah who proclaimed God’s declarations to an ancient people who lived in a time of tension, much like we do today. And what did the Lord want His people to hear then? “Remember not the former things…” (Isaiah 43:18). Considering this instruction is in the middle of a passage that is all about remembering the remarkable event of the Exodus from Egypt, what does God truly desire His people to do? As His plan unfolds, He will show that any grand memories of the past will be greatly outdone by a yet more wonderful future. A new Exodus is on the horizon.
For us even now, we are filled with hope as we anticipate our “exodus” from this life and enter into the life of the world to come. This is what the apostle Paul points us to consider when we read his letter to the followers of Jesus who lived in ancient Philippi.
“Not that I have already obtained [the resurrection from the dead] or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. ” (Philippians 3:12-14)
And so, Cross Family, my encouragement for us in this new year is that we might faithfully follow together in this pattern of Isaiah and of Paul. We enter this new year—one still plagued by the trials of this fallen world—with eyes that are focused forward in hopefulness of what God has not yet done. We cling to the certain promises of our Savior Jesus: He will always be with us, He will come again in glory, He will make all things new! In 2021, our Lord remains committed to “Building God’s Kingdom” among us and through us as His people. Let’s keep our eyes open for opportunities to join with Him in this wonderful, vital, and significant kingdom work!
“Since we have such a hope, we are very bold...” (2 Corinthians 3:12)
—Pastor Mark Harris