We have a tendency to view God from our perspective. If God acted in a certain way in the past then we believe that he will act the same way in the future. The prophet Isaiah delivered a proper perspective of God’s abilities and actions. Isaiah challenged the people to trust God to do something new:

Do not call to mind the former things, or ponder things of the past. Behold, I will do something new, now it will spring forth; will you not be aware of it? I will even make a roadway in the wilderness, rivers in the desert. (Isaiah 43:18-19)

Isaiah emphasized his point with a chiastic parallelism warning the people not to think they had God figured out. God is greater than what they could imagine. What is your view of God’s ability? Is your God too small for the challenges you’re facing? The Apostle Paul had a Scriptural view of God that trusted God for great and mightly things:

but just as it is written, “THINGS WHICH EYE HAS NOT SEEN AND EAR HAS NOT HEARD, AND which HAVE NOT ENTERED THE HEART OF MAN, ALL THAT GOD HAS PREPARED FOR THOSE WHO LOVE HIM.” (1 Corinthians 2:9)

You can choose to focus on your problems or the God who can solve those problems. Paul revealed that God is able to do much more than we realize:

Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen. (Ephesians 3:20-21)

When Isaiah tells us to not to ponder the past, he encouraged his audience to be open for God to do a new work; however, they were not jettison the lessons of the past. He introduced a tension concerning our view of God. We must realize that God can do something new, while we recall His faithfulness in the past:

Remember the former things long past, for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is no one like Me,  (Isaiah 46:9)

As we consider God’s great acts in the past, it can give us confidence for the future. Soren Kierkegaard described the tension with this illustration, “Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.” People are often reluctant to change their beliefs and methods. The Pharisees refused to see Jesus as God in the flesh. Don’t put God in a box – as William Carey said, “Expect great things from God. Attempt great things for God.”

We have the opportunity to reflect upon God’s work in the past, and at the same time, we must be open to trust God in doing a new work.  We must seek to honor the past, fully embrace the present, and look forward to the future.

Associate Pastor – Discipleship.  The Church at LifePark

Professor of Discipleship, Columbia International University

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