Have you ever been at a dinner where the host instructs you to keep your fork because there is more to come? And what comes after a meal? Dessert! The host has saved the best for last; there is something to anticipate and look forward to following the meal. It’s like there’s an added blessing to enjoying the meal you’re currently eating because you also get to look forward to what is yet to come. Just like life.
Just like we are to enjoy the meal that’s right before us, we should live in the moment we’re currently in, not missing any opportunity the Lord gives us. In a previous blog, I shared a story of how my dad didn’t want to miss helping a man because he felt it was possible that the Lord had sent the man to him at just that moment. But if we live as if we don’t have anything to look forward to, we can slip into fixating on the past. I have a tendency to do exactly that - I fixate so strongly on things that HAVE happened that I can miss what IS happening.
Isaiah 43:15-19 says:
“I am the Lord, your Holy One, Israel’s Creator, your King.” This is what the Lord says - he who made a way through the sea, a path through the mighty waters, who drew out the chariots and horses, the army and reinforcements together, and they lay there, never to rise again, extinguished, snuffed out like a wick: “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. 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.”
Here’s a gentle reminder from the Lord to the Israelites reminding them that when He used Moses to part the Red Sea, the Israelites were saved while Pharaoh and his soldiers were killed. But He then tells them to forget about that because He’s going to do a brand new miracle. His miracles didn’t stop at the parting of the Red Sea, and they didn’t stop when He led them through the wilderness and gave them the Promise Land. His miracles didn’t even stop when He sent Jesus!
Jesus came as a baby, worked as a carpenter, proclaimed the Good News, was beaten and killed, raised to life again, and still, THE LORD IS DOING A NEW THING! The story isn’t over. Just like the meal isn’t over and we are anticipating dessert, we are anticipating Jesus’ triumphant return! There is more to come, and not just for the Church, but for our personal lives as well.
John 14:12-14 says:
“Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.”
This is a promise straight from Jesus’ lips saying that we can do the same things He did, and even better, when we ask in His name so that our Heavenly Father may be glorified. The Lord is doing a new thing in each of us so that we can proclaim salvations, healings, and miracles for our families, friends, and loved ones. Jesus’ power is at work within us, so while we should remember what He has done, He tells us to keep our eyes on what is yet to come.
Pastor Devin gave us the challenge to pray for one person in our circle of influence, to engage with them, and to share the gospel. I don’t know who that person is that the Lord put on your heart, and you don’t know mine, but regardless of names, can we all agree that the Lord is doing a new thing in their lives? Let’s anticipate Jesus’ return AND the work He is doing in the lives of our loved ones through us. Let’s keep our eyes on the spiritual ‘dessert’ of the one person who God has placed on our heart giving their life to Jesus. Let’s make that our hope...that the best is yet to come!
In Christ,
Becca Drumheller
