Why New Is > Next Is True.
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It’s the first part of 2019. Some of us made resolutions hoping for positive change. Some of us didn’t.
The truth is that ALL of us want to see positive momentum in our lives.
Sometimes we think the only change that can come into our lives is “next” kind of change.
“Next” change is sequential, logical and predictable- A to B, B to C, and C to D.
(*This isn’t a new idea or concept. Over the years I’ve heard some of my favorite communicators; Christine Cain, Steven Furtick, Kris Vallotton and others, expound on this idea. I just can’t seem to shake this idea as we have settled into this New Year!)
There’s nothing wrong with this kind of change. Actually, doing what’s next is often a beautiful picture of faithfulness and resilient stewardship.
The problem is that sometimes we get stuck in this kind of thinking.
Sometimes we forget that God can work in our lives in LEAPS and not just in layers!
I’ve personally fallen into this mindset more times than I’d like to think about.
I’ve tried to masquerade fear, fatigue and low expectation as faithfulness.
My “next” orientation subconsciously attempts to imprison God into my box of limited expectations.
Many times, before we can learn something New, we have to unlearn something old. To learn, we really need to unlearn what we have previously known.
There truly is a greater kind of change. “New” change is greater than “next” change.
God is so creative. He is always doing a New thing. Always.
The New work of God doesn’t stop after we give our lives to Him.
When a person places their faith in Jesus they become a New creation. All of the old has passed away and the New has come! (2 Cor. 5:17)
Becoming born again is not a better version of your old self. It is something completely different!!
A New man.
A New mindset.
A NEW creation!
The good news is that we get to experience new things EVERY SINGLE DAY.
You drop the ball. Regret a choice you made. Failed to live up to God’s standard or your expectations? Every new morning you can experience new mercy.
It’s not just the next day, it’s a New day.
New day. New mercy.
New things have the power to displace the old.
Jesus warned all of us not to try and “patch up” the old with the New. (Matt. 9:16)
Sometimes there are places in Scripture that on the surface seem to contradict other things God has told us. In those moments, mine for truth in the tension.
God never contradicts Himself.
He has perfect integrity-especially within biblical authority.
Isaiah 43:18-19 NIV
18 “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past.
19 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.
Forget the former things? What!?
It’s so important for us to remember all that God has done for us in the past.
Testimonies breed courage.
Remembering produces gratitude for the past and faith for the present.
However, we are not supposed to focus on how God brought about the old change that was once New in our lives.
Focus on Who produced the change.
Remember what He did.
Don’t get hung up on how He did it.
Focusing on the “Who” feeds hope.
Remembering the “what” produces faith.
An over fixation on the “how” creates a fresh rut from stale formulas!
And that my friend, is a recipe for great frustration and exhaustion.
This New Year, what New thing is God wanting to do in your life?
In what area of your life have you been settling for “next” change when God wants to bring in the New?
What is something you need to unlearn in order to step into the New that God wants to introduce you to?