A Time to Release

You're listening to the My Morning Devotional Podcast, episode 1597. Today's Devo is called A Time to Release.

Hey there, we're the Alessies, a ministry family working together in our church in Miami, Florida. And if you're like us, when days get busy and to-do lists get longer, it can be hard to find devotional time. That's why we've partnered with our friend Allison to produce a five-minute daily dose of heaven. This is the My Morning Devotional Podcast.

Hello, everyone. My name is Lauren Burgos, and I am your host for this week. Now I'm saying Lauren Burgos because somebody left a comment that was like, you need to say that you are Lauren Burgos. I was like, okay, got it. So now I'm like subconscious about my name. Um, anyways, so yes, I'm actually I'm loving this week because I think it's very relatable. Um I'm sorry. I keep getting spam calls like five times a week, and it's on do not disturb, and they're just ruthless, but we're gonna keep going. But we talked yesterday about a time to grieve, and we spoke about with every season comes a time to weep, a time to laugh, a time to mourn, a time to dance. Um, and today we're talking about a time to release, and we are speaking out of Isaiah 43, 18 through 19. I'm speaking in the NIV, and it says this forget the former things, do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing. So I absolutely love this verse, and I feel like I would read it a lot when it would come to like faith talk. It was like, see, forget the former things, don't dwell in the past. See, I am doing a new thing. The Lord is doing a new thing. And first, I just want to say that absolutely God can do a new thing, but let us not be looking so much for a new thing, for like what is God gonna do with the new thing, that maybe we miss the small little things that God can be doing in our life. So, like if you're in a waiting season and you're waiting for God to show up, don't just sort of idolize the new thing that you missed little like minuscule things. And a lot of times when people talk about this verse and specifically this topic, um the example they use is like, yeah, like the Israelites, the the Israelites missed the carpenter son and they missed Jesus because they were waiting for like that big new thing. So that's just one part and we'll talk about that more later. But what I really want to focus on is like forget the former things and do not dwell on the past because right now we're talking about a time to release. And I think one of the hardest parts about change is not just stepping into what's next, it's letting go of what was. It's letting go of what's familiar, it's letting go of what we always knew. So, like for me, just being transparent, it's like I am used to a certain routine. I'm used to living with my family. I lived with my parents before I got married. I'm used to knowing a certain relationship with my family. Now I'm married and I love it, and I go home to my husband and it's awesome and we have a routine. But I'm trying to let go of the familiar thing. I'm trying to let go of what I always knew. And it's just change. It's not bad. It's just change. But here's what the Bible is saying. Forget the former things. Don't dwell on the past. Not that those things are bad, but here's the thing. I'm doing something beautiful in a new thing. I I want you to focus on the new thing that I'm doing. Because sometimes when we hold on to old season, they become part of our identity. It's like you see that person that's like so stuck in high school, and it's like, ew, you're like way too old to be stuck in high school. Like and I used a a silly, like a silly example of me just, you know, remembering what it's like to live with my parents and and my family. But but when you're that person who just constantly dwells on the old relationship, what it used to be like, the good old days, we're not forgetting the former things and we're dwelling on the past when the word of God tells us to do the complete opposite. And like Ecclesiastes says, there's a time for everything. There's a season for everything. There's a time to hold on to those moments. There's a time to soak up a season, but then there's a time to release those things. There's a time to recognize, hey, I'm not in that season anymore. I gotta grow up. So forget the former things. Don't dwell on the past. If you are going through a breakup, or if you are going through just a really, really tough change in season, don't dwell on the past so much that you're missing out on the new thing God is doing in you. Because right now, God is working in you. That's the new thing God is doing. The new thing isn't, oh, the new man's God it's gonna bring into your life. No, the new thing is how God is restoring your soul, how God is making you a better person. Or if the hard thing you had to let go of in the past was just trusting God and letting go of your old job. Maybe you lost your job. Maybe, maybe you really had to let go of an old home. I I really don't know what your situation may be. But maybe it's something to do with an old job you had to let go and you're stepping out in faith. Forget the former things. Don't dwell on the past. Trust in God and see that He is doing a new thing in you. Remember, it was, oh my gosh, oh, Lot's wife, I remembered her name. She looked back and she literally turned into a pillar of salt after God told Lot and his family, don't look back, keep going, trust in me. I'm doing a new thing in you. And she didn't trust God and she looked back at the city that God told them to run from, and she literally turned into a pillar of salt, which is crazy, but it's a good lesson for us. So don't look back, forget the former things. This is now a time to release and trust God for the new thing that He's doing in you. Let's pray. Dear Lord, we thank you so much that you're with us and you embrace us even in the hard changes, even in the seasons of transition, God, we know that you are with us. And Lord, when it's even hard to let things go and hard to release, God, and to forget the former things and not to dwell in the past, Lord, we know that you are doing a new thing. Give us strength to see the new thing that you are doing. Not just in others, but in us. In Jesus' name we pray.

Amen. So there you have it, your five minute daily dose of heaven. Thank you so much for tuning in today. We pray these devotionals empower you to take on your day. If you've found value in this devotional, share it with a friend, leave a comment or review for us on the app you're using right now. Until tomorrow, we pray that your latte is strong, but your love for Jesus is stronger.