Isaiah 43:14-45:10 I always looked forward to Christmas because I knew I would receive a whole new outfit that even included new underwear. As soon as the opening of presents was completed, I ran and got into a hot tub and then dressed in my new outfit. I wanted to be squeaky clean before I put on my new clothes. When I came out in my new outfit, my daddy always said, “You look beautiful.”
The longing in every heart is not only to have new things, but also to feel fresh and clean. Perhaps you did not have the loving childhood I experienced, but God can make all things new for you. You may have even experienced some type of abuse that has made you feel unclean and dirty even today as an adult. Maybe your memories of your childhood are not pleasant at all, and you would like to take a giant eraser and just wipe out every bad memory. The good news is that God has a new beginning for you even today.
Today is your day of salvation (wholeness). Today you can begin again with a new slate, a new life. Today you can be born again, and no matter what your past is, you can become as clean and sweet as a freshly bathed infant. The moment you accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, He has a bath for you that cleanses you from all sin. His blood shed on the cross for you can wash every sin away. He has a fresh set of clothes for you also. It is His robe of righteousness.
You may already be saved, but there is still a residue of your past that you just can’t wipe from your memory. The memories of abuse, rejection and failure often cling to us like the leaves of an oak tree that fail to drop until new leaves pop out in the spring. Isaiah 43:18-19 tells us what to do with the past: “Do not remember the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing, now it shall spring forth; shall you not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.”
Maybe your life was like a wilderness, and you thirsted for love as a man in the desert thirsts for water. Here is a promise to stand on; rest assured God’s will is to perform this in your life. He desires to make a way for you today in the wilderness of your life. Your part is to focus upon Jesus and not the past. “Do not remember the former things.” God desires to satiate your soul with the living water of His Holy Spirit. Your part again is to not dwell on the past or consider the things of old. Your part is to forgive all those who wronged or hurt you, and also to forgive yourself for past failures. A new thing is coming your way today. Pray this prayer with me:
Lord, I choose to forget the past and look for the new today. Heal my heart, O Lord!
READ: Isaiah 43:14-45:10; Ephesians 3:1-21; Psalm 68:1-18; Proverbs 24:1-2
Bill Wiese 
Paul McGuire 
