Don’t remember the prior things; don’t ponder ancient history. Look! I’m doing a new thing; now it sprouts up; don’t you recognize it? – Isaiah 43:18-19
Dear Gatherers,
Every New Year is a turning-time to look back and ahead. Having just spoken comfort to a people fighting their way back from unimaginable loss, the prophet Isaiah encourages them to face forward. Forget the past. Focus on the future. That’s a huge request for folks whose defining experiences have been triggered by captivity, chaos, and injustice. Yet the prophet hears God’s voice loud and clear. Don’t obsess over what you’ve been through. See what’s happening now. Something new—something radical—is growing out of the rubble and ashes of your loss. Don’t you recognize it?
Sometimes we don’t recognize what God is doing. Sometimes the struggles of our past has placed callouses on our vision that blind us to what our Maker is up to. We need radical vision for that—the ability to see past our pain… to imagine what we can’t yet perceive… to believe what we don’t understand. Radical Vision is Gather’s rallying cry in 2024. God is growing something new and extraordinary out of our rubble. Can we recognize it?
Blessings for a revelatory year of newness, Gather!
Much love,
Pastor Tim