If we’re not careful, we can read the Bible like a history book and see all the great things God has done in the past, but totally miss out on what God is doing right now in our midst. In the beginning of Isaiah 43 (and in many other passages in Isaiah), God recounts all the incredible, loving things he has done in the past for his people: ransoming them, calling them by name, walking through great difficulties with them, opening up the waters of the sea to deliver them, and more! Then he says,
“But forget all that—it is nothing compared to what I am going to do. For I am about to do a brand-new thing. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it?” (Isaiah 43:18-19).
As you read God’s Word individually or as a small group, move beyond the stories of what God did in the past. Think about, talk about–better yet, experience–what he is doing. He is indeed present in your life and in your group meetings–right now. Be sure your heart is softened and prepared to experience his presence, power, and purposes Today.
Many small groups put an emphasis on studying, analyzing, and discussing the God who did awesome things in the Old Testament and the Jesus who appeared in the New Testament and walked the earth 2,000 years ago—the historical figure of antiquity.
It’s good to be reminded of all that. But sometimes we also need to “forget all that”! Because it’s nothing compared to what he is going to do in and through your life. He is about to do a brand-new thing–something even bigger and better than he’s done in the past. Yes, check it out. He’s already begun. Don’t you see it?
How can you begin to focus on what God is doing rather than what he has done?
What “brand-new thing” is God doing in your life or in your group today?
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