The focus of encouragement

"This is what the LORD says— he who made a way through the sea, a path through the mighty waters, who drew out the chariots and horses, the army and reinforcements together, and they lay there, never to rise again, extinguished, snuffed out like a wick: 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." Isaiah 43: 16-19 (NIV)

Isaiah 43 refuses to go away. I keep running into it everywhere I go. Each time I encounter it, I spot something new. This weekend I was brought face to face with verse 18. "Forget the former things. Do not dwell on the past". Contrast this with Isaiah 46 vs 9. "Remember the former things, those of long ago; I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me."

So which is it? Forget the former things or remember them? Despite the contradiction Isaiah 43 and 46 share a similar structure. They start with an assurance of God's commitment to his people. They move on to an injunction on how to approach the past. But Isaiah 43 arises out of a context of God's judgement and a commitment to look after his people moving forward, whereas 46 arises out of a context of God's historical care for his people and the way that he has looked after them in the past.

The message then, is clear. Don't focus on your past failures or your own plan for the future. Focus on God and what he has promised. Focus on God and what he has done.