Isaiah 43:18-19 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.
As we celebrate the High Holy Days of Rosh Hashanah or Yom Turah (Feast of Trumpets) tonight, we enter into a new season. Rosh Hashanah traditionally marks the Jewish New Year. “Shanah” is a unique Hebrew word meaning “to repeat, revise, or go over again.” As we begin the new year, with fall, then winter, spring, and summer, we remember the cyclical pattern of time in God’s creation. The nature of life is to repeat itself — to continue in a cycle, marked by Rosh HaShannah — a New Year. Although time is moving in a direction toward a definite destiny determined by the Creator, it does so in cycles … truly, “what goes around comes around.”
However, “Shanah” does not only mean “to repeat” — but also “to change” …
So, entering this new year, a fresh cycle, we may also grasp the opportunity to change, to do something radically new and different. New beginnings are a time for new choices, new experiences, new hopes, and dreams. Can we allow this season to inspire the desire for new experiences and initiatives in God? Can we choose to pray for, expect and act within the divine order of a new cycle … break out of the “same old — same old” and choose to believe in His power to do exceedingly abundantly more than we could ask or imagine? The new season beckons us to this…
If we believe that our Lord is really on top of things, if we believe that He can even redeem our mistakes, then we ought to be filled with expectation for change, great change in our lives, by His divine power to work in and through us. Entering this new season can inspire a choice in faith, to love and serve with greater devotion than ever, perhaps in ways we have only dreamt of. A new year is upon us. Let’s choose change — for He will “do a new thing.”
Copyright 1999-2024 Worthy Devotions. This devotional was originally published on Worthy Devotions and was reproduced with permission.
More Devotions
A recent study by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania and University of California Los Angeles wanted to find out, “if you had to choose between more time and more money, what would it be?” While they found most respondents answered, “more money”, they also found that those who preferred “more time” were generally happier! When I read this article, it reminded me of a story, that I’d like to share.
While John warned against deception in the last days, and we should be mindful and discerning the times in which we live, keenly aware of the rise of the spirit of Antichrist — he also gave us encouragement: “…you have overcome them, for He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.”
The Lord spoke to Moses, who led the children of Israel out of Egypt to be desperately cornered with the Red sea before them and Pharaoh’s chariots advancing upon them from behind. Overwhelmed with terror they cry out to Moses, “It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!” Having just miraculously escaped from the miserable life of slavery, and only beginning their new life of freedom, the children of Israel were faced with the most dire threat to their existence.
Over the past few weeks, we’ve begun a series of devotions based on the Exodus wanderings of the Children of Israel, and their tragic mistakes which we can learn from and avoid. One powerful influence common to their failures was fear.
For the past two weeks we have examined lessons from the OT account of Israel’s Exodus from Egypt in hope of avoiding the errors and attitudes of the children of Israel. This week we will draw connections between the Exodus and the prophecies in the book of Revelation.