“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?” (Isaiah 43:18-19)
How many of us like the past things, such as good and awarding experiences? I don’t know about you, but I do. I graduated the Bachelor of Applied Theology on May 24th, 2025. It is so crucial to get the knowledge of God as much as possible, so I wanted to go on doing Postgraduate Diploma in Applied Theology and then, Master of Applied Theology, if possible. I even posted what I will write about in my thesis on Facebook before the graduation. Although assessments were challenging, I loved digging deep to Scriptures and theology through scholarly sources. Biblical and theological studies deepen my relationship with the Triune God through faith in Jesus. However, as my Grade Point Average score is low, it has not been possible to further my studies in Carey Graduate School, which includes Postgraduate Diploma in Applied Theology and Master of Applied Theology. Nonetheless, I am glad that I also took ‘Introduction to Christian Leadership,’ the micro-credential paper, even after the Bachelor of Applied Theology. Besides studies, I love Carey community because it is one of the communities of Jesus-centredness.
The context of Isaiah 43:18-19 is that Isaiah prophesises God’s mighty power in comparison with His redemption of Israel by bringing the Israelites out of Egypt, where they were held as captives (c.f. Exodus 13:17-14:31). As God desired Israel to believe and trust in Him entirely, He wants them to forget His former redemption to them. This does not mean they should literally forget it and not to inscribe on records of God’s works for their future generations. Of course, they should note His former miracle for them, but what God meant is He has more miracles to show His faithfulness to Israel, instead of just former one. Although the Israelites were not perfect, they were God’s children.
As God has created all of us, we are His children as long as we believe in Jesus Christ (John 1:9-13). Although Jesus Christ’s sacrifice on the cross as an atonement of our sins is the greatest story in the history, God wants us not to dwell on it and His past miraculous works upon us forever. Instead, these are the reminders of His faithfulness upon us and God desires us to move forward through faith in Jesus (Philippians 3:10-14).
In my case, I love Carey Baptist College so much and wanted to stay over there forever. However, I guess God has closed doors on me to do postgraduate studies and it is time to put my faith into practice that I can be a Christian author. Hence, I believe improving my devotional-writing to the point that I can contact publishers and get ready to publish 1-year devotional booklet publicly, instead of just online, is my first step of becoming a Christian author. Although I cannot go into Carey Graduate School to study further after my Bachelor, I firmly believe God is not done with me yet and trust His plan for me, even though I cannot see it completely yet. In fact, His knowledge and wisdom are unsearchable (Romans 11:33-36). It is up to us whether we believe and trust Him through faith in Jesus entirely or not, regardless of the level of our belief and trust (Hebrews 11:1, 6). This is what following Jesus and trusting God means.
“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” (Ephesians 2:8-10)
Meditate on Jeremiah 29:11-13 and 2 Corinthians 5:17, and ask yourself this question: “Am I only relying on God’s past works/miracles through faith in Christ, and if so, how I can move forward with Him?”
