As we enter autumn, signs of change seem to be all around us. The temperature is dropping and leaves are beginning to change color. I see the change in my family; my children are looking taller, more mature, and handling more responsibility than ever before. I have felt the shift relationally, in our extended family and friends. More than this, I feel the season shift in the spirit, as we are stepping into a new era of the work of the Holy Spirit in the earth. Have you felt the season shift? Have you sensed that God is doing a new thing in the nations, in our region, in His church?
Isaiah 40: 18, 19 says, “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.”
There is a challenge to us in these verses. God is doing a new thing, but do we perceive it? It is springing up, bubbling up into our lives. Are we aware of what He is doing?
For some, this shift is subtle. Maybe you notice things in your life that once seemed normal, but suddenly they are no longer as fulfilling as they once were. Relationships that seemed to be foundational are changing, and God is highlighting new people to walk with. Perhaps you start to notice that rhythms and habits that once were a consistent part of your life are being questioned. You have a new desire for something more. The status quo just isn’t cutting it anymore.
For others, the shift is more obvious. You are seeing dreams and visions you have carried through the past years begin to be fulfilled. A sudden shift has happened in your work, ministry, or relationships. Perhaps you perceived the shift and chose already to step out in faith, and suddenly find yourself thinking, “Now what? Did I make the right choice?”
Jesus says in Luke 9: 37-39, “…no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the new wine will burst the skins; the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, new wine must be poured into new wineskins. And no one after drinking old wine wants the new, for they say, ‘The old is better.’”
It is clear that when God is doing something new, it can only be experienced with a new wineskin. The new of God requires a new way of doing things, new mindsets, and new perspectives. The challenge is that, like Jesus points out, we always prefer the old. The old is comfortable, familiar, and known. It doesn’t require us to shift into a completely new way, shape, or experience.
God tells us through Isaiah that in these new seasons, a key step we must take is to forget the former things and not to dwell on the past (Isaiah 43:19). It can be tempting when we shift to question the new based on our experience of the old. The old is comfortable. I know what to expect in the old. I have habits to manage the old. The new sounded good, but now that I’m here, it just seems weird and uncomfortable! The new always comes with a temptation to go back to the old way.
I believe this is why we are told to forget the former things. Looking forward, not back, is a key strategy for moving into a new season. Stepping into the new of God almost always requires me to sacrifice my own comfort and understanding. It is a trading of what I have known for what God promises to be. If I actively look forward to the new that God has for me, I am more willing and able to embrace the fresh yet uncomfortable season.
Stepping into the new can be exciting, but is rarely easy. Yet in this place of discomfort, there is great encouragement. What is clear from these verses in Isaiah is that when God is doing a new thing, once we perceive it, we can step in confidence where He is leading us, because He is now making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland (Isaiah 43:19). Where I have previously been walking may have seemed like an endless wilderness, but in the new, there will now be an open door. Where I once felt dry in my life, work, or ministry, instead living water will be poured out to quench my thirst.
Be encouraged that if in this season you are feeling the shift, you are not alone. God is doing a new thing in the earth, and we can do nothing but perceive His voice and respond in faith. Take heart that God is good, and He rewards those who earnestly seek Him. He provides for us even in the discomfort of new seasons, and will meet our faith with his faithfulness. Forget the past, step into the new, and receive the direction and living water that God has for you there.
Faith motivated Abraham to obey God’s call and leave the familiar to discover the territory he was destined to inherit from God. So he left without a promise and without even knowing ahead of time where he was going, Abraham stepped out in faith. Hebrews 11: 8, TPT
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