April 6th, 2021
By Bill Yerkes
Happy Easter! This past Sunday, as we revisited the Easter story, Pastor Mike began his message with the question, “Have you seen God?” Throughout the course of his message, he reminded us of three powerful truths of Easter: He is alive, He loves you, and He is big enough to be the anchor and foundation of your life!
Isaiah was prophesying to Israel, he was pointing them to God’s greater plan ultimately through the Messiah. He was seeing them through some difficult times both in their captivity and their exile.
Isaiah 43:18-21 NIV
“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.
The wild animals honor me,
the jackals and the owls,
because I provide water in the wilderness
and streams in the wasteland,
to give drink to my people, my chosen,
the people I formed for myself
that they may proclaim my praise.
Reread the first verse.
In preparation for what would be offered as something new, God wanted the Israelites to forget about the things of the past that would drag them down. He wanted them to forget about their sin and the things that would discourage them and focus on the next new thing God was doing for them. This can be true for us today, as so often we dwell on the things of the past; old sin, past hurts, even broken dreams. All of those things, and more, can keep us from what God wants to do new in our lives. We are reminded through the Easter story how all things are made new through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The unforgettable image of the butterfly emerging from the cocoon is a beautiful representation of something new and unexpected from its previous condition. What our lives look like in the past, should not determine what it looks like moving forward.
In Isaiah, the promise of “a new thing” is followed up with the question, “…do you not perceive it?” Will you know what God is doing when it comes? Will you see His hand at work in your lives when it comes? How much we are able to see and detect His work in our lives is determined by how well we are in touch with the Spirit, and how much we make the choice to be in step with Him each and every day.
Perhaps it is hard to see where God is working because of your present circumstances. The Israelites were promised a “way in the wilderness” and “streams in the wasteland.” Sometimes the obstacles of life, and our short sightedness, keeps us from seeing the way God has made for us to move forward. And those same things can keep us from seeing how He provides for us to get past where we are now, to move on to something new.
Have you seen God? Is the way clear for you to move past the now into something new? What is that “something new” in your life? What is it God is waiting to unleash for you that is being held back by your own limitations? The power of the resurrection promises new life, not just for the repentant sinner who has never accepted salvation for themselves, but for all who choose to focus on how God moves powerfully in the lives of all who believe, and choose to walk daily with the resurrected Savior.
Happy Easter! This past Sunday, as we revisited the Easter story, Pastor Mike began his message with the question, “Have you seen God?” Throughout the course of his message, he reminded us of three powerful truths of Easter: He is alive, He loves you, and He is big enough to be the anchor and foundation of your life!
Isaiah was prophesying to Israel, he was pointing them to God’s greater plan ultimately through the Messiah. He was seeing them through some difficult times both in their captivity and their exile.
Isaiah 43:18-21 NIV
“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.
The wild animals honor me,
the jackals and the owls,
because I provide water in the wilderness
and streams in the wasteland,
to give drink to my people, my chosen,
the people I formed for myself
that they may proclaim my praise.
Reread the first verse.
In preparation for what would be offered as something new, God wanted the Israelites to forget about the things of the past that would drag them down. He wanted them to forget about their sin and the things that would discourage them and focus on the next new thing God was doing for them. This can be true for us today, as so often we dwell on the things of the past; old sin, past hurts, even broken dreams. All of those things, and more, can keep us from what God wants to do new in our lives. We are reminded through the Easter story how all things are made new through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The unforgettable image of the butterfly emerging from the cocoon is a beautiful representation of something new and unexpected from its previous condition. What our lives look like in the past, should not determine what it looks like moving forward.
In Isaiah, the promise of “a new thing” is followed up with the question, “…do you not perceive it?” Will you know what God is doing when it comes? Will you see His hand at work in your lives when it comes? How much we are able to see and detect His work in our lives is determined by how well we are in touch with the Spirit, and how much we make the choice to be in step with Him each and every day.
Perhaps it is hard to see where God is working because of your present circumstances. The Israelites were promised a “way in the wilderness” and “streams in the wasteland.” Sometimes the obstacles of life, and our short sightedness, keeps us from seeing the way God has made for us to move forward. And those same things can keep us from seeing how He provides for us to get past where we are now, to move on to something new.
Have you seen God? Is the way clear for you to move past the now into something new? What is that “something new” in your life? What is it God is waiting to unleash for you that is being held back by your own limitations? The power of the resurrection promises new life, not just for the repentant sinner who has never accepted salvation for themselves, but for all who choose to focus on how God moves powerfully in the lives of all who believe, and choose to walk daily with the resurrected Savior.
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