But Now! But Now! But Now!

But now!  But now!  But now! he said as he emphasized the first two words of Isaiah 43!  Our Sunday School teacher then took us to the previous chapter to see why there was a "But now" there!  In that chapter, we could see how God people had sinned and had gone far from Him.  They didn't obey and worshipped idols.  It sounds like now as we worship the idols of money, fame and material things!

So, chapter 43:1 starts off with "But now!"  In verse one, it says how he created us and formed us.  He calls us by name.  There are so many wonderful promises in verses 1-19 in that chapter.  In my bible, I have verses 1-2 highlighted and the dates I have shared them with my daughters.

"Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; and you are mine.  When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you.  When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.

Have you had your "But now" moment?  Some of us have a time in our mind when we said yes to God.  We turned from sin.  The "But now" was when our life changed and we began a new life serving Him.

Why would we not serve a Father who loves us so much?  Verse 4 says we are precious and honored in God's sight.  He said we are chosen in verse 10.  He is our redeemer in verse 14.  In verse 19 he said, "See, I am doing a new thing".

My "But now", my "new thing" was a beautiful spring morning in 1970 when Larry and I went to an altar of prayer in our church to ask Jesus into our hearts.  We put the past behind us to walk into a "New Thing".

In this New Year read afresh, "See I am doing a new thing".  What new thing does God want to do in your life this year?  May He show me what He wants for me in 2020!