Back to School 
Pause
Change is hard for everyone. Even when it’s obvious that doing something different is the better way to go, we always seem to encounter opposition. Sometimes that resistance comes from others, but often we find it welling up from deep inside ourselves.
God has something new in mind for us, but we have to decide that we are willing to go there. No kicking and screaming!
So get ready for something new. Hopefully, you will recognize its value and receive it—gladly!
Listen
Do not remember the former things, or consider the things of old. I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.
Isaiah 43:18–19
Think
I know that the calendar tells us that a New Year starts on January 1. But I’ve always thought the new year really starts on the first day of school. New school supplies, new outfit, new teachers, new schedule. So much newness packed into one day. The excitement leading up to it was always my favorite part.
The new thing God promises gives me the same feeling of excitement. The anticipation. The wonder of how God will make a way that I haven’t seen before and change something I thought was impossible. We must open our eyes and our hearts and our minds and be ready to perceive the newness as it springs forth. We must be prepared to be a part of the newness, to be the way in the wilderness, to offer water in the desert. Get ready! A new thing is springing forth.
Ruth Perkins Lee
Pray
Dear God, I’m ready for the new! It’s so exciting! How can I be a part of a new thing? How can I be a new thing? Amen.
Go
Don’t be afraid.
The newness God is offering you is a
Very good thing!
Open your heart and mind to
The new beginnings God has in store.
Get ready for a change that lasts—forever!
