“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 43:18-19

Last year I really struggled when Christmas was over; New Year’s was approaching, all the “word of the year” posts starting popping up… I felt, well, discouraged and hopeless. That verse at the top of this post? “See I am doing a new thing!” I didn’t believe it. Not one word of it.

You might say I was the “ye of little faith.”

I didn’t really believe that God could do a “new thing” in my life. Motherhood has been pretty hard, all nearly 12 years of it. Homeschooling has been even harder. The struggle with depression seemed never-ending. The weaknesses and character flaws I saw in myself seemed to grow instead of diminish. I did not have one ounce of faith that God could or would do a new thing in my life.

And you might say I was stuck there for quite awhile…maybe for years, even.

You know what is coming, right? But, God…

Friends, there is always, always, a “but” in our hopeless situations. And it always begins and ends with God. No matter how I feel, no matter how hopeless my situation seems, God is always at work and He is always the God of all hope.

That’s not always easy to remember or easy to believe, though. You might have thought I was taking a different direction with this post…you might have thought I was going to say, “Last year I had no faith that God could change my circumstances, but LOOK, HE DID! My life is awesome now! Everything has fallen into place just as I had hoped.” 

God didn’t change my circumstances…He changed me.

Instead of a new set of circumstances, He did a new work in my heart. And how many times do we desperately need that from Him? How many times do I just need a shift in perspective, a reminder to be grateful, a glimpse of His face in my sorrow?

Busy moms, whether you are in a good place or a hard place right now, the God of hope has not changed. His feelings and His love for you are not hopeless or based on your behavior or circumstances. His love never fails. When all else around you falls apart, you can cling to that truth.

This New Year’s Day I’m not looking for a brand new set of circumstances to make my life complete. I’m looking to the God of hope, that has given me a new heart in Him, has made me a new creation through Christ, and I am continuing to cling to that verse that I don’t always believe. God is growing my faith…God is stretching me…God is continuing to do a NEW WORK in my heart and I’m so grateful. I’m so grateful for the ways I can see that new thing even though it isn’t the new thing I had hoped for. It’s even better because it is making me more like Him.

With His help I am forgetting the former things that I had hoped would change, I am making a daily {moment by moment} choice to not dwell on the past, I am looking for His newness in me and around me and praising Him for it…no matter how small it may seem.

Take a look around you today! I guarantee He is at work, which means He is doing a new thing for you, too!

Busy moms, if you need visual reminders like I do, I hope you will enjoy this printable Scripture passage I created for you! You can download the PDF printable HERE.