103: Letting Go of the Past to Embrace God’s New Wonders

Navigating life's trials often feels like a solitary journey, but it's during these times that we're called to lean into our faith and trust the path God has laid out for us. My own journey through divorce and the ensuing search for purpose has been a testament to this delicate balance. I open up about the struggles of discerning divine messages from my desires, and the importance of intentional quiet time with God to silence the negative self-talk that can easily spiral out of control. Inspired by the teachings of Isaiah 43:18-19, we examine the courage it takes to leave the past behind and step boldly into the future God's planned for us.

It's my hope that this episode will serve as a reminder to consistently seek out time with Jesus, embracing the peace that comes with surrendering to His divine plan.

Resources Mentioned on the Episode and suggested reading & social media handles:

• Philippians 3:12 -20
• Isaiah 43: 18-19
• Habakkuk 2: 1-2
• Lyvitabrooks.com/contact

Calls to Action:

·        Sign up for CreateSpace Newsletter for resources on living for Christ, being more productive and new releases of the podcast . 

·        Website: www.hangingoutwithjesuspodcast.com

·        @themeprojectacademy (Pinterest)

·        support@themeprojectacademy.com (for comments)

·        YouTube Channel: The Me Project Academy

Thanks for listening. I pray this episode was a blessing to you. Leave a comment or rate this episode . Then pass it on. Share this link: https://lyvitabrooks.com/

Transcript

Lyvita: 0:00

Saints, god is trying to tell us something, but do we have the ears to hear? Or are our desires so much greater than taking the time to hear from him? And yet, if we do take the time, why don't we trust his process? It's a lot to take in, and yet if our heart's desire is to follow Christ Jesus and complete the mission we were sent to do, then there are some changes we have to make because Jesus is coming back. Let's get to the intro, because I have some things to share.

Lyvita: 0:54

Welcome to Hanging Out With Jesus podcast, the podcast that equips and encourages you to spend more time with God in order to declutter your self-talk intentionally, so you can go and do what God's called you to do. Hi, thanks for listening and welcome. I'm Lyvita, author, bible teacher and speaker on a mission with the purpose to help the saints break free from the things that distract us from doing what God's designed us to do, and one of those things is complaining because you aren't trusting God's process. This is episode 103. I pray this episode awakens your senses to the truth of who you are and whom you belong to, so you can let go of the lies and embrace doing what you're called to do. Let's get started.

Lyvita: 1:58

Saints, it's April 18, 2024, the day I'm recording this because I'm still dealing with the aftermath of my divorce. It's a trying time. Here, I'm thinking that divorce would be the end, only to find out that it's still scraping away at my future. It's time for me to rest from 23 years of a toxic relationship and one year of separation y'all. It's not over yet, saints. We never know what lies ahead, but one thing I'm learning is that Paul is right forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead. That really is a thing. Read Philippians 3, verses 12 to 20. When you get a chance. You see what I mean. This is the season that I am in Learning that the past is the past. Leave it there and move forward.

Lyvita: 3:06

Yesterday was a bad day for me, and it was all because of a letter I received. That letter was good, but this really isn't about the letter. It's that I was already in a state of feeling defeated because I couldn't get settled in my quiet time. It's like too much noise, too many responsibilities, too little money, too many memories from the past trying to tell me how I destroyed myself, too many thoughts running around saying I'll never get out of this state of mind. Too many familiar things looking at me saying you live in a room and will never see the dreams God's placed in your heart because I'm not good enough. Too many lies swirling around in my head, sending me down the cesspool. I'm straining to distance myself from all because my morning routine was interrupted with the memory of receiving a letter. Saints, have you had bad days? Have you gone down that negative cesspool that you've been trying to stay away from? Have you, like I did yesterday, speaking words that made me feel less than and causing me to complain? Then you know what I'm talking about. Sage just wanted to make this announcement because, if you are enjoying this episode, please rate, review and subscribe to this podcast right in the app you are listening to now. You can do this while listening. It helps with moving it forward so more believers can hang out with Jesus while others learn why it is important to do so. Thanks for supporting this podcast and please share it. Now back to the episode.

Lyvita: 5:01

My scripture for the year is Isaiah 43, 19. But today the Lord brought in my understanding of that scripture by leading me to read verse 18 as well. I'm going to share it from the Message Bibles version. It begins Isaiah 43, 18. Forget about what happened. Let me stop here. This is God talking to the Israelites who just crossed the Red Sea after leaving their toxic life in Egypt. Saints, why do we like to return to places that were toxic, as if the good times outweigh the bad, when we know in the back of our heads, if we return, they are going to treat us the same way, even though we have high hopes that they won't? Why is that? That's why, when I read this, it was clear to me that I need to forget what happened. It's done, and so I kept reading. Here's the rest of verse 18 don't keep going over old history. Let's stop here. You see, I need to read it all together, because separate doesn't have the impact as reading it together. Just being told to stop and not told the specifics well, that's just not complete understanding. So here's all of verse 18. Forget about what happened. Don't keep going over old history. Oh, whoa, thanks, that was the key. You see, I was rehashing about the past, reliving it with corrections made by my mind that said coulda, woulda, shoulda, statements, trying to make a bad situation good in my head, to hide the mess, the truth of what I endured awfulizing, trying to make going backwards look good, make going backwards look good. That's when I caught myself. The past was not glamorous. It wasn't glamorous. It wasn't glamorous. The past is the past and I need to stop going over it. It's done Now.

Lyvita: 7:46

Verse 19 of Isaiah 43 tells me what I'm to do and what God is doing. Here's verse 19. It begins with telling me what to do. Be alert, be present. Let's look at that. Just as God was telling the Israelites, he is saying the same thing to you and me, saints. We're to pay attention and live in the present. Here's the rest of verse 19, where it tells us what God is doing. I'm about to do something brand new. It's bursting out, don't you see it? There it is. I'm making a road through the desert rivers and the badlands. See, did you get that? God is already working on our behalf here.

Lyvita: 8:42

The Israelites like me are going around depressed over where we are and what we left, complaining, sabotaging our own future, because we don't like our present conditions, thinking they are worse than where we came from, when, in essence, the God we serve is working in all for our good. He led the Israelites out of toxic relationships. He led me out of a toxic relationship. He's leading you out of relationships, businesses, careers that are toxic, unhealthy training, so that he can do a new thing in and with you.

Lyvita: 9:32

Let's read verses 18 and 19 together to get a full view of what God's saying. Forget about what happened, don't keep going over old history. Be alert, be present. I'm about to do something brand new. It's bursting out, don't you see it? There it is. I'm making a road through the desert rivers in the badlands. These two verses tell it all. Stop trying to relive and revisit the past, because God wants to do something brand new in and through you. Look, pay attention, live in the present, because the past is done. The past is over. It's the present that we are to live in and we're to be alert. Pay attention, be in the present to be a part of this new thing, so you will be able to see it coming. God says it's bursting out. Look, look, he's making it. Wait for us y'all. The road is being paved as we speak. We will walk through the wilderness and receive water in the desert.

Lyvita: 10:54

Then God led me to Habakkuk, chapter 2, verse 1 and 2, which led his point home, and I pray it does for you also. You see, instead of us having negative self-talk that causes us to doubt, put ourselves down, complain. God wants us to do this instead. This is what Habakkuk did when he was looking for an answer from the Lord, because he had a complaint, and his complaint is why is God standing back idle while evil is on a rampage and the righteous have no justice? Saints, have you ever asked why, god, are you silent? Why aren't you doing something about what is happening in my life or in somebody else's life? Because stuff is just a mess. Where are you, god, saints? Have you ever been there? It's a feeling of helplessness, hopelessness. I can relate to what Habakkuk is saying to the Lord.

Lyvita: 11:58

Habakkuk, chapter 2, verse 1, is what Habakkuk did in order to receive God's answer, which is also what God is referring to in Isaiah 43, 19. I will take my stand at my watch post and station myself on the tower and look out to see what he will say to me and what I will answer concerning my complaint. That's it, saints. We are to stand, look, listen and expect. We are to pay attention, be alert, looking for expectancy, a response from the Lord about our complaint, our problems, situation that seems overwhelming. This also means that taking a stand is stopping. Stop complaining, stop talking negatively when you don't have the answer yet and say I guess God will answer. That's negative. Station yourself means simply to get somewhere where you can see what God's answer will be without being interrupted.

Lyvita: 13:11

For me, that is going to the park sitting at my favorite restaurant park sitting at my favorite restaurant, writing in my journal, or driving while listening to WGTS and singing. The point is, I'm at a place where I can listen by looking expectantly for the Lord answered to my prayer. Saying so, I was driving down the road, crying up a storm with tissues. As my windshield wipers headed to the park, I heard God say as clear and calmly as I'm talking to you now I'm here, and I said Lord, I don't fear you or see you in this situation. That's when I heard trust me. And I said it's too hard, your words aren't comforting my soul right now, and I know you. It's like an interruption and I could just hear all of me, all of me, say God's got you, god's got you, he's got you.

Lyvita: 14:36

Saints, I got to leave you with that. God's got you. You only have to trust his process. You only have to go to your secret place where you can listen by looking expectantly for the Lord to answer your prayer. Then you can write it plain on a tablet and run with it.

Lyvita: 15:01

Your prayer. Then you can write it plain on a tablet and run with it, even though what you are expecting is an answer from the Lord. The answer will come. It might seem slow, but wait for it. It will come and it won't be delayed. God answers prayers. You simply have to be willing to wait on the answer. Let's pray, lord.

Lyvita: 15:24

God, we cry out to you for help in our situations, in the secret thoughts we hold that are clogging up our minds of self-doubt. We cry out to you because life is draining and we're tired of fighting the same battles over and over again. Where is our way out? When is our release from this desolate place? God, we're your children. We're created by you, formed by you. You are our Savior, our Lord, our God.

Lyvita: 16:02

Oh, lord, we go to a secret place where we can listen by looking expectantly for your answer to our complaints. Meet us there or, as we're going, meet us. Help us have an embracing and accepting spirit to what you have to say, even if it's not what we thought Let us see your mighty hand at work in the midst of our storms. Give us peace as we look expectantly for you to answer our concerns. In Jesus name, we pray Amen, saints, thanks for tuning in. If you enjoyed this episode, then get your free weekly newsletter to help you declutter your mind, make sense of your heartaches and improve your self-talk so you can go and do what God's called you to do. All this and more can be found including my contact information on HangingOutWithJesusPodcastcom and the show notes below in the show notes below. So until we meet again over the airways, intentionally and daily, hang out with Jesus, shalom.