New Things And Old Memories

New Things And Old Memories

Isaiah 42:9

“Behold, the former things have come to pass, now I declare new things…”

Have you ever heard of Janus? He was a very prominent figure in Ancient Rome. He was distinguished by his amazing face. What was so amazing about it? It was probably the fact that he had two of them.

Janus was a gateway, or a doorway. He stood at the center of important transitions. War and peace belonged to him. Fortune and fame or poverty and obscurity were his realm. He had the ability to look back on the past or gaze into the future.

As we take this day to mark a transition into 2025, we could benefit by thinking about Janus for a few minutes. After all, January is named after him for that very purpose. We wisely take this moment to look back and thank God for getting us through the past year and to look forward, asking for insight and guidance as we face the unknown future.

We should all use this moment to gain some perspective on the transition between two years. However, I’d like to offer a spin on that. What if we turned that around?

What do I mean by that?

What if instead of thanking God for the past year, we turned around and thanked Him for what’s coming down the road, even though we have no idea what’s coming?

And then, what if we took those forward looking eyes of perception and insight and turned them around, using them to learn and gain insight from what we lived and saw over the past year?

Imagine the impact it would have on your life to thank God for every coming moment, not knowing anything at all about what is around the corner. And then, think of the incredible strides your walk with Christ would gain if you took some time deeply examining your own past experiences through God’s lens.

Imagine a church where that was the norm for all of us. What a church that would be!

Isaiah 48:6

“…I proclaim to you new things from this time, even hidden things which you have not known.”