Glory Days

16 I am the Lord, who opened a way through the waters,

   making a dry path through the sea.

17 I called forth the mighty army of Egypt

   with all its chariots and horses.

I drew them beneath the waves, and they drowned,

   their lives snuffed out like a smoldering candlewick.

18 “But forget all that—

   it is nothing compared to what I am going to do.

- Isaiah 43:16-18

Do you remember your glory days?

I am what you call an amateur basketball tournament player. During my 20s and 30s, I played in 2-3 basketball tournaments a year. And we would win many of them. I loved the team mentality, the strategy, and the fans celebrating. But, of course, the trophies and prizes were very nice as well!

If you saw me, you would easily know that I am not athletic or impressive at basketball. I just happen to have friends who play well, so my role would be to be a point guard and pass them the ball. Nevertheless, as a team, we took home many championships!

However, at some point in my late 30s, we stopped playing in tournaments, and I found myself telling younger folks about how I used to win. So I would often share about my glory days.

In Isaiah 43, God encouraged the Israelites to remember the glory days of His faithfulness and forget their past faithlessness. In verses 16-17, they remembered how the Lord rescued them from Egypt and opened the Red Sea. However, the context of Isaiah 43 was when the Israelites were in captivity and exile in Babylon. So, not only were they to remember, but they were to forget the past failures that led them to captivity.

Isaiah 43:18 says, “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past.” I like how another version says this, “But forget all that— it is nothing compared to what I am going to do.”

As we go into a new year, this can redemptively apply to us today. First, we are to remember God’s past faithfulness in 2021. Take time to write it down in your journal. Then, share about them with your table group and friends. Post about it on social media. However, we are not to dwell on the past. We should not dwell on past discouragements and even on past glory days of what God did. There is room for us to learn from the past and to grow from it.

But we are to look forward. God has more wonderful days of His faithfulness waiting for us!

In other words, if the Israelites kept dwelling on Babylon, they would never look for the new thing of release from exile. In the following verse 19, this appeal is clear. It says, God will make a road in the wilderness. God will provide a river in the desert. And we know this is pointing forward to the ultimate spiritual rescue when Christ would come to free them once and for all from the captivity of their sins.

Friends, we have much to look forward to as followers of Christ in 2022. We can look forward to the future salvation of many in San Diego. We can look forward to the future sanctification of his people. We can look forward to the future glory of Christ.

So yes, we made it to 2022, but we have not seen anything yet CRB!

I can’t wait to grow deeper with you this year! Amen.

Pastor Sean

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