“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 43:19
It’s the beginning of a new year. The past year is gone, and we are ready for a fresh start. This is a time when many of us consider goals we want to accomplish in the next twelve months. We often take a moment to assess where we are in life, reevaluate our dreams, review where we’ve come from, and strategize on how we can take steps toward the vision we have for our lives, careers, community, and families. I believe that God is looking for people of dependent faith that will pursue Him for His plan, not just to run after their own personal ambitions.
God is looking for people of faith, people that will live in dependency upon Him. When we live depending on God, then we seek Him for what He wants and for what He can do. That isn’t to say that we aren’t going to have stability, but it means that we pursue God for anything that He may want us to do. Faith daily lives on the edge of possibility of God doing something amazing through our lives, something beyond us. Faith works with God’s grace to do more than we could ever imagine.
How does a person move with a fresh move of God’s Spirit? First, we need to spiritually perceive what God wants and what He is doing by His Holy Spirit. When God started something fresh for His people, He said, “Shall you not know it?” When we are spending time each day in the presence of God, we come to spiritually recognize the leading and the voice of the Spirit.
Second, we need to leave the past behind us. Isaiah 43:18 says, “Do not remember the former things.” You can learn from the past and appreciate the people you have encountered; however, to be free to receive something new, you have to be willing to let go of what used to be. Don’t lean on your own understanding; lean on God.
Third, take a step. God said He would make a road, a way forward. God wants us to do more than have faith in Him; He wants us to put action to our faith. He needs our obedience to take a step. He will meet that step, and then take us farther than we could ever go on our own.
Application: God doesn’t always show us each step, and He may change a step along the way. He wants our heart to be in trusting dependency on Him. Don’t worry if you don’t have the whole plan. Don’t be too concerned with what others think about you. Go after God and see what He can do above and beyond what you could ever imagine.