HE IS COMING!!!!!!! YOU WILL SEE HIM IF YOU BELEIVE IN HIM AND FAITH IN HIM.

“BEHOLD, I AM DOING A NEW THING” (Isaiah 43:19)

The first Promise God gives us, "Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.” (Isaiah 43:18-19) The Lord is inviting us to let go of the old.

There are people who are adamant about holding on to the past. Many things have happened to us in the last year that caused us pain, guilt and regret. We have a store of unhappy and unholy memories. Absolutely nothing good can come out of keeping alive the past that is dead. Yet we have a tendency to cling on to this past. We end up then living our life from the premises of our past experiences. If this is so, we are incapable of living this New Year in the vision that God has for us. Therefore along with the New Year, God is offering us the grace at this blessed moment to forget the past.

“One Thing I Do, Forgetting What Lies Behind And Straining Forward To What Lies Ahead” (Philippians 3:13)

But to forget the past we too need to make a deliberate act of the will. We must decide not to recall the past precisely because God does not want us to. God has a reason in asking us to remember not the things of the past. Perhaps we have made a mess of our life. Failures, frustrations, sins and sufferings, hurts and offences have marked our journey. With this heavy burden, we cannot move forward. Whatever might have happened, we need to leave it all to the ocean of the Mercy of God. We are called to trust Him for He promises us to meet us where we are. The Lord God says, “I am He who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins.” (Isaiah 43:25) We can dare to leave our blemished past in the grand mercy of God. For He assures us not only that He will not remember our sins but that He will blot them out from our hearts.

The Scripture again gives us another marvelous promise that “in everything God works for good with those who love him.” (Romans. 8:28) Everything, even the mistakes that we made, even the unbearable sufferings that we underwent, even the hurts that were unjustifiable – when we leave these in the hands of God, He moulds it all to bring a greater good into our lives. Every painful memory is transformed to become a blessing for us. This is the grace of this hour – God’s mission to free us to receive the gift of His love in this New Year.

"The Lord, Your God, Is With You Wherever You Go" (Joshua 1:11)

And once we make the deliberate decision to forget the former things God promises us that we are sure to witness something. “Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?” (Isaiah 43:19) There is immediacy about this promise. The Lord asks, “Can’t you see it? I am doing a new thing.” He continues to direct our gaze saying, “I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.” There can be no way in the wilderness which is why it is a wilderness. And there cannot be rivers in the desert. And yet it is the impossible that the Lord promises for us.

The Lord is offering us the grace to place our trust in Him, to hope in His salvation. We trust God for a reason. He will be there by our side, to participate in our struggles, to fight our battles and lead us to victory and joy - "If God is for us, who can be against us?" (Romans 8:31) He will walk with us, never leaving us alone or unwatched even for a moment . "I will not leave you desolate; I will come to you." (John 14:18) When we claim this Promise, we can take up the journey of our life in the assuring Presence of God.

“Blessed Is She Who Believed” (Luke 1:45)

Faith is a supernatural posture which enables us to trust in God and rejoice praising God in all circumstances. Mother Mary, the handmaid of the Lord, shows us the way of this attitude. She was anointed with the Holy Spirit. Yet, right at the beginning of her mission she was in deep trouble. She conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit. This she knew and had accepted. But the whole world did not know this. Joseph had no way of knowing this. Her parents did not know this either. How was she to explain this to everyone? Why should they accept her word? Yet her impossible situation caused her no anxiety. She was not concerned about herself. She

did not try to hide herself. She went to serve Elizabeth as she was led by the Holy Spirit to do so. And the gospel records for us that as she entered the house of Elizabeth, she opened her mouth only to sing the praises of God, “My soul magnifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour.” (Luke 1:46-47) She who should have been drowning in her anxiety was rejoicing greatly. She could do so precisely because she left everything in the hands of God.