Change is Hard

One thing I think a lot of us are working through right now is a lot of changes, especially when it comes to church. And yeah, a lot of things are kind of up in the air right now. We have the same people and leaders, but everything else is just... different.

And believe me, I've lived through a lot of "different" times when it comes to church. That's what happens when you're old like me (and just because change happens).

Enter this passage from Isaiah. I try to keep it in mind when there is a lot of change happening.

Isaiah 43:18-19 NIrV

[18] “Forget the things that happened in the past. Do not keep on thinking about them. [19] I am about to do something new. It is beginning to happen even now. Don’t you see it coming? I am going to make a way for you to go through the desert. I will make streams of water in the dry and empty land."

God doesn't want us to keep dwelling on the things that are keeping us back. There are new things for us. One translation of verse 18 is:

“But forget all that— it is nothing compared to what I am going to do."

The crazy thing comes when you look at verses 11-17. God lists off just some of the things He has done for Israel (notice I said "for" and not "to"); and not a single one is a bad thing. God lists the ways He has saved them and how He will continue to do so. 

We aren't called to forget the bad stuff of our past - but to not hang onto even the good stuff. Should we dwell on the bad? No of course not.

When we are comfortable we don't want things to change. And why would we? Things are good!

We have to remember:

Different doesn't equal bad.

Different doesn't equal good.

Different is just different.

Will we miss some of the things from before? Sure. But holding onto the old means we don't have our hands open for the new.

So let go of the past so you can fully embrace the new things. Because God's new things are kind of awesome.

Goodness of God -CeCe Winans