Isaiah 43:18-21 — Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert. The beast of the field shall honor me, the dragons and the owls: because I give waters in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert, to give drink to my people, my chosen. This people have I formed for myself; they shall show forth my praise.

Today is the first day of 2015. Another time to look back and forward, another time to consider beginnings and endings. If you haven’t got actual beginnings and endings, perhaps it’s another time — at least — to consider hitting the refresh button on a few things.
These thoughts, of course, follow yesterday’s. Yesterday, though, my mind ran on continuations. Today they are more about refreshing, reviving and renewing.
God’s all about renewal. I love this passage from Isaiah where God tells His people what His approach is.
First, you can forget about everything that happened before. When God decides to do a new thing, He can do things that are so wonderful that anything that went before pales in comparison. God’s new things can start small … but then they spring up like beautiful flowers from tiny seeds.
The next thing is that when God does a new thing for His people, He does it in a way that shows His loving care; every detail is taken care of. If it’s needed, He’ll flatten mountains and water the desert.
Even the wild animals will worship God for His new things and there is no possible response for His people is praise.
The note sounded by Isaiah finds echoes in many places in the Bible. Some of my favorites are Isaiah 40:30-31, Isaiah 65:17-19, Psalm 23:3, Joel 2:18-31 (especially Verse 25) and 2 Corinthians 5:17.
There are different kinds of renewal, of course. God has promised to redeem His people, He has promised to restore all of His creation and — of course He renews us. That’s the one Paul was talking about — “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” (2 Corinthians 5:17)
It’s a wonderful New Year idea, this idea of old things passing away and all things becoming new. Biblical renewal is preceded by repentance and the surrender of “old things”. That makes this a good time to take stock, decide what renewal to seek and what old things to allow to pass away …