This morning’s sermon looked at Is 43:18-21. September in England is traditionally associated with the start of the new academic year, and in Goldthorpe, this is especially poignant since the new primary school will be opening this week. At this time of fresh starts and new beginnings, it’s worth realising that God also has new things for us. (Is 43:19, Is 42:9)
If we are to hear and see what God wants to do in the future, we have to be prepared to let go of the past. It’s important to remember what God has done, but we are not to dwell in the past, becoming ‘set in our ways.’ Often, we expect God to move in the same ways He has previously, but we need to be flexible and embrace the new things He does. We don’t want to become petrified (literally: ‘turned to stone’; figuratively: ‘paralysed by fear’) like the creatures in C. S. Lewis’s tale ‘The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe‘:
So often, we are resistant to new things because these take us out of our comfort zone, but God wants us to be wholly dependent on Him, not on our skills and past experiences (see 1 Cor 2:3-5, 2 Cor 1:8-9). God is able to make a way in the wilderness (after all, He provided for the Israelites for 40 years while they were in the wilderness, giving miraculous provision of water, food and clothing) and streams in the wasteland; as we see new buildings emerging in Goldthorpe, we need to continue to believe not only for the economic regeneration of the area, but its spiritual regeneration also. God is on the move – are we ready?