Isaiah 43:18-19 “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 desert
and streams in the wasteland.”

Every year when preparing the December Scripture list I want to have a passage for the 31st that focuses on the future, and this year is obviously no exception. That said, even though I prepare these lists myself, I am always blessed by what I read when I read it, which is an indication both of the magnificence of the Bible and that God can use even me to do things. These two verses seem particularly hopeful in relation to the Church in Japan in general and to this church specifically, because Japan has been such a spiritual wasteland, ever since the massive persecution over 400 years ago. There have been brief bright spots, such as the growth in churches right after WWII, and there have been faithful believers who have hung in there despite the seeming fruitlessness, but in general, Japan has been a field where very little would grow, the very definition of a wasteland. That makes this passage hopeful indeed. We forget that God isn’t limited by the past. We allow ourselves to be limited by the past, and very foolishly feel like God is as we are. (I started to say, think, but this isn’t a matter of rational thinking, but rather emotional feeling.) Here God is reminding us not to do that! We are to a large extent the sum of all we have experienced, but by the grace of God we are more than that; we can imagine and create that which we have never seen. I feel that is a major way in which we are created in God’s image. (Genesis 1:27) Here God is saying that it doesn’t matter how desolate things have been, He is making a way. That’s incredibly exciting! We can’t make it happen in our own strength, but we can be actively available for God to use us in making it happen. This is in no way a passive thing, but it doesn’t depend on us. The point is to keep looking to God, eagerly anticipating what wonderful things He is going to bring about.

This is certainly applicable to me. Burnout and resignation are big issues when ministering in Japan! I’ve been given a verse about harvest as the verse for the year for 2015, and I need to trust that God is going to bring it about, however sparse the harvest has been to this point. In January I will be attending one conference as a participant and another as a speaker. I don’t know what the Lord has in mind in that area for the coming year, but I need to be available. I need to do all I can to prepare the believers here to deal with the harvest, letting God use me to impart vision. Every individual has issues of one sort or another, but that has been true ever since the Garden of Eden! I need to renew my own vision of what God can and will do, so that I may be fully available when He says it’s time.

Father, thank You for this Word. Keep me from limiting You in any way, by my thoughts, words, or actions. Help me indeed not dwell on the past, but eagerly anticipate what You are going to do right here, and not just in heaven. May all of Your plans for this church and this nation be fulfilled, for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!