ESOCS Devotional 21 August 2023 – Just Let Go
MEMORY VERSE: “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 road in the wilderness and rivers in the desert, to give drink to my people, my chosen.”Isaiah 43:18 & 19
TEXT: ISAIAH 43:8-21 (KJV)
Bring forth the blind people that have eyes, and the deaf that have ears.
9 Let all the nations be gathered together, and let the people be assembled: who among them can declare this, and shew us former things? let them bring forth their witnesses, that they may be justified: or let them hear, and say, It is truth.
10 Ye are my witnesses, saith the Lord, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me.
11 I, even I, am the Lord; and beside me there is no saviour.
12 I have declared, and have saved, and I have shewed, when there was no strange god among you: therefore ye are my witnesses, saith the Lord, that I am God.
13 Yea, before the day was I am he; and there is none that can deliver out of my hand: I will work, and who shall let it?
14 Thus saith the Lord, your redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; For your sake I have sent to Babylon, and have brought down all their nobles, and the Chaldeans, whose cry is in the ships.
15 I am the Lord, your Holy One, the creator of Israel, your King.
16 Thus saith the Lord, which maketh a way in the sea, and a path in the mighty waters;
17 Which bringeth forth the chariot and horse, the army and the power; they shall lie down together, they shall not rise: they are extinct, they are quenched as tow.
18 Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old.
19 Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.
20 The beast of the field shall honour me, the dragons and the owls: because I give waters in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert, to give drink to my people, my chosen.
21 This people have I formed for myself; they shall shew forth my praise.
Read Yesterday’s ESOCS Devotional here
Many a time people spend time thinking about unpleasant things that happened to them in the past. The sad memories linger on in their minds bring them depression. That is not what God wants us to do. Such attitude is not helpful. It is against the good counsel of God. He says, “Do not remember the former things, nor consider the things of old.” He wants us to forget them and focus on the future. In other words, when we are in unhappy circumstances, He is there with us. However, He does not want us to continue to worry about them. They would not last a lifetime. He has a timetable for everything that happens to us. After a while, He would cause them to cease; and He would take them away and move us on to better times. When He moves, He expects us to follow Him closely behind. The new times would be different and joyous. If we move with Him, we would get there. If we refuse to move with Him, we would miss it.
The psalmist had the right attitude. He was continually waiting for His God in the time he needed help. He did not turn away from Him because of the bad times he was facing. He said, “I will look up to the mountain. Does my help come from there? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth!” (Psalm 121:1 – NLT). Job went through his bad times. But he remained strong and continued to believe in God and hope in Him. He said, “I will maintain my innocence without wavering. My conscience is clear for as long as I live” (Job 27:6 – NLT). They did the right thing during their times of trial and temptation: they maintained their faith in God and continued to have confidence in Him. Hebrews 10:23 says, “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for who has promised is faithful.” Let us hold tightly to our hope in God. We should not allow it to fade if it seems that God has delayed in solving our problems. We can trust Him to do what He has promised. He says, “Behold, I will do a new thing.”
One thing is certain: it is God’s will that it should be well with us. Nothing can stop His agenda in our lives. Our trying period is an indication that He has started a programme in our lives. At the end of it all, He will give us that which he has prepared for us. All we need to do is cling to Him and forget the past. Let us just let it go! God is our future hope. He is enough for us.
- How do you handle your moments of unfavourable circumstances?
- Build in you the strong attitude to remain steadfast in God at trying times.
- What motivates you to react the way you do in the times of temptation?
- Pray to God for the strength to carry on and remain faithful at times of temptation.
- Pray for the help of the Holy Spirit and the wisdom of God to guide you through life.
FURTHER READING: Joel 1:1-13; Zechariah 6:9-end; Luke 12:13-21; 1 Corinthians 5
Thank you for reading the ESOCS Devotional today. Please share and follow us on all our platforms to contribute to the spread of the Gospel.
ESOCS Devotional 21 August 2023
