“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? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.” — Isaiah 43:18–19, ESV

Father, we thank You that Your word is spirit and it is life. The entrance of Your word gives light and understanding unto the simple, Father. Father, our prayer is that Your word would truly be a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path.

Thank You for Your word. Your word is truth. Your word we can stand on, Father God. Your word shall not pass away. It is forever settled in heaven.

Thank You, thank You for Your marvelous — Your marvelous word. Thank You for the spirit of Your word, because You told us, Father, that the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. So we thank You for the Spirit of Your word.

We thank You for a fresh anointing. We give You praise, we give You glory, and we give You honor. Hallowed be Your Name, Father, in Jesus’ Name.

Okay, Isaiah 43 verse 18:

“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 43:18–19, NKJV

God is awesome. A road in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.

The Lord starts out at this point in this part of Isaiah wherethe children of Israel had been disobedient to the Lord and had been taken captive,ans been defeated — but God is telling them, don’t be mindful. Don’t be mindful of this setback, of this tragedy that has taken place, because I’m about to do a new thing. I’m getting ready to do something new.

Don’t remember the former things. Don’t consider the things of old. Keeping our focus in the rear view mirror can hinder us from going forward. God wants us to go forward.

God told the children of Israel once He brought them out of Egypt not to look back to Egypt for help. And in Isaiah 31:1 it says:

“Woe to them that go down to Egypt for help…” — Isaiah 31:1

So God had brought them out and didn’t want them to look back to Egypt at all — not to consider the bondage, not to consider the leeks and the garlic. You remember when they were coming out and they wanted to go back, because they thought that it was better to be in bondage than it was to be in the wilderness suffering, or going through — but it was only a transition period.

God was bringing them out to bring them in — bringing them out to bring them in.

We sometimes look back for the wrong sources of help, the wrong sources of power, the wrong sources of influence or wealth, because when we are in need of help, we want help, and sometimes we’re not willing to receive it the way God has designed to give it to us.

Sometimes we’re looking back to the wrong sources, the wrong people at times when we need to keep eyes on the Lord and move forward.

The Lord tells us even as Christians, as believers, that anyone who is in Christ is a new creation and becoming a new creation, we are to forget those things that are behind us.

We are to put off the old man and put on the new. And thisis a part of not remembering the former things. Not being held in bondage by the former things, by our past, but we are to move forward into the new thing that God has done and even once we are saved, if we commit an offense to the Lord, we’re not to be stuck by that thing, because the Bible tells us that if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. So we don’t at any time have to be held in bondage by something that is behind us. It’s behind us.

We’re going to move forward. So we need to keep our eyes on the Lord and move forward. No need to look back when God says, “Don’t.” God is our source. And He wants us to move forward, and what’s ahead is better. What’s ahead is better.

Paul said that he was forgetting those things which are behind — and moving ahead, moving forward, pressing toward the mark for the prize of the high call of God in Christ Jesus.

Yes, even if it was good — even if it was good — because Paul listed some good things. He was he was a Hebrew of the Hebrews, a Pharisee, one who kept the law, one who was blameless in doing these things. Studied under the feet of Gamaliel — all these things we know about Paul. Paul was somebody in Israel. He was somebody in Israel. But he said that which he had counted as gain, he’s now counted all loss, and he considered it to be a waste — something you would fit for the toilet. It didn’t mean anything anymore because he had a higher goal — something that was far better, far better, far better.

And we’re not to allow anything in the past to hinder us from going forward and obtaining our goal, whether it be good or bad.

Do not consider the things of old.” We are not to permit anything to put us in bondage. When Jesus has made us free, we are free indeed. Wow. The crux of the matter here is that the person who is speaking — because we know it’s the prophet Isaiah, right? But he’s speaking on God’s behalf. And we know that Isaiah was the real deal. He wasn’t some fly-by-night someone trying to be a prophet. He was the real deal — the real deal. And the scripture tells us:

“Surely the Lord God does nothing, unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets.” — Amos 3:7

It’s God who does the revealing, the prophet does the speaking, all right? And we know that the acid test is: what they say comes to pass. And God said, if it doesn’t come to pass, you don’t respect them as a prophet — you know, there’s people who want to be in that number, but either you are or you are not. And if you’re missing it, you need to sit down, because God does not miss.

“Behold, I…” — God says, “I will do a new thing.”

God is speaking, and it’s a done deal. A new thing is about to manifest. And you’re going to know it because God is going to be the One that reveals it. It’s going to manifest. It’s going to take place. The interjection of divine ability — is there anything too hard for God? He is the great I AM. So if He says He will do it, He will do it.

“I will even make a road in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.” In other words, God makes a way where there was no way. He makes a way where there was no way and brings dry places back to life — back to fruitfulness. God desires us to be fruitful. He desires us to have life and to have it more abundantly. So this passage of scripture lets us know that God can — and God will. God can and God will. God wants to bring back to life the dry places — the dry places in our lives. He wants to pour some living water — living water — upon us and have it flow within us and through us, that life may spring up.

Thank You, Lord. So we thank God. We thank God for this passage of scripture. And I know there’s more in there — we can dig in there if we have time — but we just thank God for His word.

Be encouraged. Be encouraged. Go forward. Go forward with the Lord. Keep your eyes on Him, and let Him do a new thing in you and through you.

Father, we thank You. We thank You for Your faithfulness. Thank You for Your grace. Thank You for Your mercy. Thank You for Your word, Father. Thank You for the encouragement that it gives unto us.