Forgetting the Former

“Forget the former things;
    do not dwell on the past.
See, I am doing a new thing!...

Isaiah 43:18-19                                  

I woke up hungry this morning.  Hungry as in thinking about going down to Mema's in Satsuma for a BIG breakfast.

But I know I'm extra hungry this morning because over the last couple of days I've eaten more than I should of things I shouldn't, excess carbs mostly.  When I do that it takes a few days to get back on track.  It got me thinking about the change I've made in my overall diet/eating plan.

Right now I have a number of friends on other weight loss plans.  Mostly drinking shakes or wrapping themselves and having big parties to share their excitement.  I keep getting invitations to join them, though I have to tell them it's really not for me.  I am thrilled that they are seeing results and hope they continue to have success and then keep the weight off.

I've done some of those things before.  But once I arrived at my goal I foolishly went right back to how I used to eat.  Weight comes back on with great haste and has a way of making you feel like a complete failure.

I saw this in Health magazine a few months ago and it was a confirmation.  I'm not feeling deprived because I can't have something. I just don't eat that anymore.  Same as a person with an allergy to a particular food just doesn't eat it, I am allergic to weighing an eighth of a ton again so I just don't eat that stuff...because like an addict I know once I do I don't stop at just one of anything.

In Isaiah 43 God's mercy is recounted, how He made a way for them to be free with a path through the Red Sea, and those chasing them were swallowed up by it never to rise again.  Why go out and pull them to safety, only to continue to run from them again?  That's what I feel like I'm doing when I return to my former way of eating.  

Verse 19 says: "See, I am doing a new thing!  Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland."  Even in the world we live in He can show us what is right for us.  Whether that is avoiding some sort of moral failure or eating healthy in the midst of sugar and fast food temptations.

Isaiah 43 may not have been written about our modern day struggles, but just like the rest of scripture, it is God-breathed and useful for application in our daily lives. It has encouraged me in many areas.  What does this chapter speak to you about?