Do not live in failure- God gives new beginning

“Thus says the Lord, who makes a way in the sea
And a path through the mighty waters,
“Do not remember the former things,
Nor consider the things of old.
 Behold, I will do a new thing,
Now it shall spring forth;
Shall you not know it?
I will even make a road in the wilderness
And rivers in the desert.” Isaiah 45:16 and 18-19.

God is talking to the demoralized and discouraged people of Judah in exile in Babylon that He is going to begin a brand new beginning in their life. They are there in exile due to their own sins and disobedience and they thought they do not have any hope for the future and God will never visit  them again. When they look forward, no hope seen for their future.

Do you feel like an exile? Something happened in your life that changed all your circumstances. May be you did something wrong or someone body else did something to you and as a result you ended up in a sad and hopeless condition. May be your career. You spent lot of time in building up your career and now you are fired  in your advanced age and do not know what future holds. May be you built a business from scratch and now you are in debt and lost all. May be you had a dream in your young age. You pursued that dream but you lost all your  hope in that dream because something happened. May be your marriage took a turn into an unexpected way and now you lost all hope in it. You see, some time things happen due to our own failure and some time things happen due to other people’s action in our lives. One or many of the above different things happens to the very best of us. You need to understand that you will face with new realities because we live in this fallen sinful world and when we live here we have relationships with other sinful people. Bible says all are tainted by sins from the beginning, from the garden of eden. Therefore, your condition you find yourself  is  not unusual. 

Bad and unexpected events happened in your life. How do you deal with it? You never expected it. Now there is no way visible to get out of it. How do you respond? Are you going give up and live in failure and disillusionment for the rest of your life? Are you going to let all your visions, callings and dreams die because something bad happened to you or someone did something to you?Are you going to place all in a tomb and live an unpleasant and depressed life for the rest of your life? You are reading my insights today because you are still alive and not dead and you do not need to live in your graveyard of shattered dreams and opportunities. 

People of Judah is in exile in a foreign land for almost 70 years now. They are discouraged. They lost all- their homes, land, temple, families and friendship all. Now they do not think the LORD will visit them again. On top of all, they know that they are there in exile because of their own mistakes and sins. God warned them many times through the prophets. But they continued their disobedient and rebellious life style. Now they are reaping the consequences and they won’t believe the LORD cares about them anymore in their wildest dreams.

How about you? You may be in the same situation. You did a mistake, you made a bad choice and although God warned you, you did not turn back to Him when those things happened. Now you are reaping the consequences of your bad choice. What are you going do?

I am here to tell you that God is a God of new beginning in your life. God is a God who has abundant grace and mercies and when you think there is no hope, God says there is hope in Him. God gives not only second chances but he gives multiple chances if we come to Him and call upon Him. If God was only a God of two chances, I won’t be here talking to you about this loving and gracious God. I would have disappeared long time ago. I am also sure many of you won’t be in the churches today. God gave several chances to you, didn’t He? Therefore do not think God has done with you. No, not at all. If you are still living and not dead, God can give you new beginning. Our passage says three things if you and me want a new beginning. Do you want fresh new beginning? If so, begin to read God’s instruction in the above passage.

1.      Do not remember the former things, nor consider the things of old. God used two words used negatively- do not remember, nor consider. Whatever that happened in your life that impacted you negatively – do not remember that event. Let your past go. Do not try to think about it. Let it go. There is nothing you can do about it. Something happened because of your mistake or somebody else’s mistake. You should not live on it remembering and rehearsing it all the time. Secondly, not consider the things of old. Consider means thinking constantly and analyzing what happened. Do you know, certain things we will never figure out on this side when we live on this earth. Do not even spend time to figure things out. So do not remember what happened and not spending time in considering it by trying to figure out the things you won’t figure out. I know several people who live constantly live in the past. Such people will not enjoy God’s plan and new beginnings in their lives. God is asking you do not rehearse it and do not brood over it. 

2.      Secondly, Expect merciful God’s hand in your life. In verse 19 The LORD says ‘Behold’ which means ‘look attentively’. “ I will do a new thing, Now it shall spring forth; Shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.” This was the most difficult thing for Judah in exile. They could not expect God to act on their behalf. They thought the LORD left them and won’t come for their rescue. But God says, you look and see. I am doing a new thing in your life. The new thing shall spring forth now. The original Hebrew language means can’t you see it? I am springing forth new thing, don’t you know it? Our God is God of new things always. Bible says his lovingkindness is new every morning. You see it says every morning. Our Lord Jesus Christ turned the most impossible event to a victory. When Jesus died on the cross, everybody including his own disciples thought that was the end of him. Keep in mind no body came back like Jesus did. It was a huge and wonderful coming back. Aren’t you a  child of Jesus Christ?  The one who abides in you will make you come back again and it will be a wonderful for many around you. Are all your hopes are dashed like people of Judah. Remember, God is doing a new beginning in your life. Open your eyes and see. New leaves are springing forth. Can’t you see? Why? Because you are His child and He is the LORD of new beginning. The one who lives inside you has the power to make you come back again victoriously. Because He himself came back victoriously from ashes of hopeless condition. 

3.      Thirdly, Look and walk in God’s already newly began ways. Verse 20 says, “ I will even make a road in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. Only God can do this and He is able and powerful to do it. He promised Judah he will do it for them. People of Judah, it was your sins that caused you to end up in exile. But you belong to God. He is going to make a road in the wilderness and rivers in the desert for them. My friend, He will do the same thing for you if you look to Him and listen to His word. When you make a road in an impossible place like wilderness and rivers, the big question is this -are you ready to walk in it? You should step out in faith and walk when he ask you to walk in the newly opened path in wilderness. Many people know the promises of God but they still are not ready to claim it and walk in faith in God’s promises. Only a small portion of refuges heard the word of God and came back to Jerusalem. But the majority though they heard the promises through Isaiah and Jeremiah, never took the step to walk in faith. They stayed there in Babylon and died there. I am asking do you have the faith to step out on His word right now? You need to rise up and walk in his newly opening up road. 

I would like to bring these three points from the above passage. Did something happened to you? You do not live in failure all of your lives. You can do it. But as a child of God, you do not need to. You have Jesus Christ  in you who will bring new beginnings for you. He came back big wonderfully. He will help you to do that as well.

But remember three things again. 

1.      Let the past go from your memory. God says “do not remember it”. Do not consider what happened. Do not try to figure out what you are unable to  figure out. Many things happening in this world is because we are living in this sinful world. You will never figure certain things. Don’t try to break your brains and head over such things. You move forward with God. God will give new beginnings like he did to the people of Judah.

2.      Expect God’s merciful hand in your life now. Look around God had already began to open you new doors and opportunities. Grab the opportunity God placed in your life in full faith and trust in Him. Expect the unexpected from God almighty. Many faith warriors stepped out in faith upon God’s words in the midst of their hopelessness. You can and will do the same thing. Peter set out in faith. Paul set out in faith forgetting the past failures. Why can’t you? What is stopping you? 

3.      When He open in a road for you in an ususual and impossible ways, lean on God and walk on it. He expect you to walk in it and that is why He is opening a door in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.

The prophet Jeremiah also wrote the same thing. He said  The LORD says to the beaten down people of Judah in Babylonian captivity that He do not  have any evil intention for them. He has only good plan for you.  Listen what Jeremiah 29:4 and 11 says, “This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon…… For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” He will never harm you and He has plans to give you hope and future again. He will spring forth new and wonderful growths again into your dead tree. And it will grow again like the nation Israel. Step out in faith upon His word and walk in it right  now.

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