To Infinity And Beyond!

 

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 desert and streams in the wasteland.  Isaiah 43 18-19

I was reading some of my older devotions when I born again.  That’s over fifteen years ago!  As I read some of them, I realized how much I have grown over that time.  It is with that in mind I decided to write  (actually rewrite) a number of other devotions over the next few weeks. I pray you will get as much out of them as I did pausing and reflecting over them.

(Revised from 10/10/05)

When we are born again, we are free from the bondage of our sins of the past.  A month ago, I mentioned that Paul in 2 Corinthians 7:9-10 spoke of the painful sorrow of sin that corrects versus worldly sorrow, which lacks repentance (see http://trdailydevotional.blogspot.com/2020/09/more-than-enough.html).  There are an infinite number of sins we could recall not only from our past but even as recent as today to dwell on.  However, we are not to focus on the seemingly infinite number of sins for as today’s verses say, “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past.”  Today, I am focusing on God’s infinite wisdom that figured out a ‘new thing’ for us to get past it all.  Because of that, we have a future with Jesus Christ.

God’s plan always goes beyond what we can see.  Today’s verses are about prophecy of the coming of Jesus Christ.  As I delved into these verses, I dissected it further than I did when I originally wrote about it.  Back then, it was simply that God made a way to remove the bondage of the past.  Today, I realize what God had done was much more profound.  He looked at the bigger problem of our sinful nature and realized there were more barriers between Him and us than just sin.  Here are some questions I asked myself in trying to understand how God looked at the problem of our relationship with Him.  How can He get us past seeing the rules and focus on loving one another (The Greatest Commandment)?  How can He help us focus on our relationship with Him and not just rituals (James 2:26)?  How can He get others to be saved who don’t even believe they are worthy (the Samaritan woman – John 4:1-26)?  Many of you could come up with a multitude of questions that ultimately Jesus Christ is the answer for.  The key today is to realize how God saw this enormous problem and knew we could not find a way to Him without great difficulty.  As such, He had the solution of sending His only Son to save us.  This is at the heart of what Isaiah is prophesying.  The new thing (Jesus Christ) was to come and make “a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.”  I can barely solve a problem to get to next week, and God made a way to solve a problem for all eternity!  Then, He sent a prophet to foretell what was to come so future generations would know.  Only the true living God could have that kind of master level wisdom.  I so appreciate that He did this for us! 

God’s wisdom is unimaginable.  His word gives us a wealth of knowledge.  Answers to every problem possible is contained in it.  One might look and say, “Well God can’t fix my internet when Comcast cuts a cable by accident!”  This is true, but perhaps at that moment He wants you to pay attention to other problems He is helping you resolve.  Perhaps God is helping you with your impatience (see 1 Corinthians 13:4) or submitting to His will (Job 22:21).  The point is we cannot know who God is unless we are willing to acknowledge He knows better than us.  Let’s be willing to understand that amazing level of wisdom He brings into our lives.  Will you submit to acquire greater wisdom of what God is trying to teach you?  How will you take time to see problems through a God centered lens?  My prayer is we acknowledge God’s greatness and just how infinite His wisdom truly is or in the words of Toy Story’s Buzz Lightyear, “To infinity and beyond!”  Amen.