Isaiah 43:16a,18,19 – This is what the Lord says: "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."

On January 1, 1998, I made a New Year's resolution. Normally I try to avoid resolutions because I believe they set me up for failure. It's so hard to start new things in the dark cold winter. Yet, each year I am tempted. In past years I have made the usual resolutions: exercise, lose weight, eat properly, but before January is out they have usually faded away. So for 1998 I tried something new. I resolved to read a daily devotional. I kept at it (religiously) for 12 weeks. My life was greatly enriched and my time spent with this Daily devotional page and my own Bible readings and prayers were rich and rewarding. I even became a bit compulsive about it, sometimes more than an hour would slip by.

Then, as inevitably happens with resolutions, I missed a day. One day became two, two days became a week. Finally I forced myself to begin again. "One day at a time", the saying goes when you fall off the wagon. I opened my Bible to Isaiah 43 and found the words of God "Forget the former things, do not dwell on the past." Relief washed over me. God doesn't care what my excuses are. He will always welcome me into his presence.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank you for your infinite patience and love. Do a new thing in me and help me perceive it. I dedicate this day to you. Work in my heart with your Holy Spirit so that I may be like a stream in the wasteland. Amen.

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About the author:

Wendy Adams <revwendy@shaw.ca>
Armstrong, British Columbia, Canada
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