Most of us are excited about beginning a brand new year. There’s something refreshing about “newness.” It’s a time to dream again, believe again and hope again. Yet, we know that while we like the idea of new things, there is a tendency to hold onto that which keeps us from receiving and enjoying the NEW!! “There’s a reason our eyes were placed in front of us – instead of behind us.” We can’t move forward looking back!!!!
Why is it difficult to let go of the past? It’s human nature to want to be in charge of every aspect of our lives. Familiarity brings a level of security and comfort to our emotions. I love the Serenity Prayer by American theologian Reinhold Niebhur. The prayer reveals the right perspective on controlling our lives.
God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
Courage to change the things I can,
And wisdom to know the difference.
In addition, the unknown can be scary. Have you ever played the “What If” game – the game of creating the worst possible scenarios in your mind until you are paralyzed with fear or too depressed to take action? Typically, these events we have concocted never happen. Also, we like what we like! I had a pair of shoes that I really enjoyed wearing. They were comfortable, cute, and were given to me as gift. I always wore those shoes. Even when they started falling apart, I did not want to get rid of them. Sometimes, there are things, habits, places and even people that we need to separate ourselves from, but we just don’t want to release them.
In Isaiah 43:18-19 God instructs, “Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.” Instead of holding on to the past, we have the opportunity to embrace the New. The new thing allows us to reboot. It helps us to make or adjust to changes that will establish the new beginning. In addition, new or different things can stretch us so we can personally grow and go to the next level of thinking, character, faith, and vision.
It is possible to be in a good place or be better than we were before, but still not have God’s best. The Israelites had a choice to make. They could have had Canaan (the promised land), but they got stuck in the wilderness for 40 years. The wilderness was better than slavery in Egypt. They were free, they had provision and protection, but it was not the land of milk and honey. Although God was with them in the wilderness, he kept directing them toward Canaan. God is always moving us forward toward His best. When we embrace God’s plan for the New, we will always go from glory to glory! II Corinthians 3:18.
