Forget? or Remember?
- Do not remember the former things… Isaiah 43:18
- Remember the former things… Isaiah 46:9
This seems particularly applicable at this time, with the world still in the grip of the coronavirus. Many of you may still be in lockdown, or at least life as you knew it has changed. The statement is true, there’s a new normal.
Recently in my readings I came across these two thoughts. Forget the past Isaiah 43:18, and then, remember the past, Isaiah 46:9.
What are we to do? Is this a contradiction? Was the prophet Isaiah having a bad day and forgot he said one thing when he said the opposite? How can both of these instructions be true?
I’ve met people over the years who are fixated on the first issue; forget the past. To them life is about forgetting the past, always moving on, leaving, releasing, letting go. And there is a time for that.
And what about remember the past? Many of us have a lot of stuff, issues we’d rather forget. Didn’t Lot’s wife turn into a pillar of salt when she looked back? I’ve also met people who seem to live in the past!
Is this in contradiction? No! Not at all.
We must always read God’s Word with the Context in mind. Because;
A Text out of Context is a Pretext.
TEXT
- This is the particular verse of Scripture we’re looking at.
- Few words.
CONTEXT
- This is the circumstances or facts or other information that surround a particular situation or event. These words give reference, clarity to the message, and bring meaning to the text.
- The context of Scripture is usually the verses before the text and the verses after. Reading them gives reference to the text we are considering.
- Many words.
PRETEXT
- A pretext is the misleading appearance or behaviour assumed with this intention.
- It is a meaning taken from the individual text (few words) without reference to the wider picture being painted by the context (many words).
- It is a false assumption, a wrong interpretation of the meaning of the text.
- Bad words.
Sadly, many doctrines and positions of belief have been built upon a pretext. A false interpretation, a wrong belief of Scripture. People’s lives can be ruined by believing a pretext, by deriving a meaning from Scripture that was never intended by the Holy Spirit and the writer.
So, forget, or, remember?
Context answers the question!
Firstly, do not remember the former things.
18 “Do not remember the former things,
Nor consider the things of old.
19 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. Isaiah 43:18-19 NKJV.
The Context of this passage, is that God is wanting to do something new, and to move into the new, the people must leave the old. He will be with them through the waters and the fire. He is going to make a way. He will be with them. It’s as if the people must look away from the past so that they can focus on the future.
Staying in the old will not allow us to be in the blessing of the new. Staying in, hankering after, desiring the old, the old normal will only block the blessings of the new. The old was good for its time, it is still important, but there’s a new, God wants us to move into. Lingering in, yearning for the old is not good. We are to leave the old and cleave to the new. Complete obedience. Complete separation. Complete transition.
Isaiah says, Behold, I will do a new thing. (Isaiah 43:19). Be aware, focus, give attention to, take note. It is time to behold the new things God is doing, now it grows. Don’t miss it.
Secondly, remember the former things.
9 Remember the former things of old,
For I am God, and there is no other;
I am God, and there is none like Me,
10 Declaring the end from the beginning,
And from ancient times things that are not yet done,
Saying, ‘My counsel shall stand,
And I will do all My pleasure,’
11 Calling a bird of prey from the east,
The man who executes My counsel, from a far country.
Indeed I have spoken it;
I will also bring it to pass.
I have purposed it;
I will also do it. Isaiah 46:9-11 NKJV.
The Context of this passage is quite different. It is that we will be encouraged to trust God’s promises when we see and learn all that God did in the past. When we see that He raised nations, put nations down, created the world and everything in it, worked miracles, called, directed and worked in His people, it gives us hope. We learn from the past. We don’t yearn for it, but we gain principles, truths and keys for life when we look back with the right attitude.
Notice something very important; it says, Remember the former things of old,
For I am God, and there is no other. The process of remembering what went before is primarily about knowing and believing and experiencing that God is God! The first thing we are to remember is that He is God! El Shaddai!
Remember the former things of old. It says remember, not go there! Recall, bring back to mind, think about, there’s some lessons to be learnt, some pitfalls to avoid, some mindsets to adopt.
We learn from the past. We live in the present. And we look to the future.
This is very interesting! Context always brings illumination. God’s Word in context brings clarity on what could otherwise seem a contradiction. Context brings Clarity to the Contradiction.
There’s a time for everything. A time to forget, and a time to remember.
Remember – A Text out of Context is a Pretext.
So, back to our current coronavirus crisis concernment.
There is a new normal in operation. Churches all around the world are responding to the challenge and the opportunity to do things differently. Maybe God’s hand is in it for His and our good. I believe the rise and effectiveness of online ministry, is a new thing. Our best response is to hold loosely to the past and old ways (they’re still relevant and have their place in God’s scheme of things), and embrace the new.
But it’s also true, we really can’t go back to the way things were. We can though look back and see the hand of God. We will see His mark and His workings and His power at work everywhere. We will see that in spite of true reports and media hype, God is still God! He still did stuff! I saw a lady in church just last Sunday who had found Jesus when watching an online church service, by a church five hours drive away. Her life was transformed!
In closing.
i) God will lead us into seasons where He wants to do something new in us, so we will need to forget the former things.
ii) God will also lead us into seasons where we need the encouragement of the past, so then we need to remember the former things.
Such is the wonder and the excitement, and the joy of walking with Jesus.
Remember, or forget? It depends. On what the context is.
- What season, what context is happening in your life right now?
- What can you see when you look back?
- What do you need to let go of to embrace the new?
- What is the Word of the Lord to you in your season?
