Beside Still WatersSample

GOD IS MOVING

Key Verse

“Forget about what’s happened; don’t keep going over old history. Be alert, be present. I’m about to do something brand-new. It’s bursting out! Don’t you see it? There it is! I’m making a road through the desert and rivers in the badlands. Wild animals will say ‘Thank you!’—the coyotes and the buzzards—because I provided water in the desert, rivers through the sun-baked earth, drinking water for the people I chose, the people I made especially for myself, a people custom-made to praise me.” (Isaiah 43:16–21 MSG)

Thoughts on Today’s Key Verse

God is moving, not stuck in the past. He’s making new inroads, forging ahead.

The things we’ve gone through in our past have depleted us of our resources to be victorious in life. Although you may still feel the sting of pain, when you allow the still waters of refreshing to wash over you, your past becomes separated from you. God is doing something new in your life, but it doesn’t exist in the past, so you can’t stay there.

Every time we travel to the past, we’re subjecting ourselves to the same emptiness we experienced at that time. You’re human; sometimes, the past will try to remind you of who you were, but the refreshing presence of God will remind you of who you are. It’s okay to bathe in the water.

Have you ever been to an event where they were serving refreshments? Crackers and cheese, fruit and finger foods, and the like. They’re usually light enough to snack on but not enough to fill you. It’s the equivalent of being thirsty and someone giving you a cup of water.

That’s not the type of refreshment God has for you. His cup of refreshment never runs dry. It’s a continuous flow of vital life and energy—a washing over that keeps you free of the past so you can walk into the new things He is doing in your life.

Sisters, God is moving! He’s filling the dryness with then refreshing waters of life in places your past has declared dead.

PRAYER

Lord, many hurtful things have taken place in my past, and I know I’ve allowed them to affect me for too long. Whether I can see it now or not, I know that You’re doing a new thing in my life. Father, wash over me with your never-ending waters of refreshment. Keep me clean and free of the past so I may come into all You have planned for me. In Jesus’ name, amen.

PERSONAL DECLARATION

I am not my past.

TAKE SOUL CARE ACTIONS

1. What about the past do you need to let go of?

2. What beliefs and habits do you want to keep, release, and establish today?