Stepping into the new story…

This is a new story. There’s a new key player. A new Israel. A new chosen one.

Called by God and chosen before his birth.

Called to be a servant of God. To speak out on His behalf. To bring God’s people back to Him. To show them the way.

He said to me, ‘You are my servant,
Israel, in whom I will display my splendour.’  Isaiah 49:3

This is a different story. Now God is reaching out to all the peoples of the earth.

I will also make you a light for the Gentiles,
that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth. Isaiah 49:6

Reaching out to you and to me.

To restore. To liberate. To provide. To guide. To comfort.

So don’t ever feel that God has abandoned you. That He has forgotten you.

Can a mother abandon or forget her own baby? It’s unthinkable. A mother instinctively cares for her child. Even if she could (and it happens occasionally in extreme circumstances), God is so much more than a mother. He cannot forget or abandon any of His children.

See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands.  Isaiah 49:16

So come. God is inviting you.

See, I will beckon to the nations…  Isaiah 49:22

You will not be disappointed.

Then you will know that I am the Lord;
those who hope in me will not be disappointed.  Isaiah 49:23

Jesus is this new servant.

The Sovereign Lord has opened my ears;
I have not been rebellious,
I have not turned away.
I offered my back to those who beat me,
my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard;
I did not hide my face
from mocking and spitting. Isaiah 50:5-6

He will be faithful and obedient. When the time comes, he will do it God’s way. He will face suffering. He will be accused. He will be condemned. He will turn the other cheek. He will endure humiliation. And he will say ‘Not my will, but yours be done.’

Looking back to the time of Abraham, we remember the journey. The covenant God made with Abraham. The way He kept His promise. The deliverance of His people from Egypt. We remember everything God did for His people. The whole history of this relationship between the one true God and his often rebellious and stubborn people. God is again promising salvation. Justice. Righteousness. Hope. These are what will last. These are what will never fail.

Time for a song! – Therefore the redeemed..

Those the Lord has rescued will return.
They will enter Zion with singing;
everlasting joy will crown their heads.
Gladness and joy will overtake them,
and sorrow and sighing will flee away.  Isaiah 51:11

It’s great to put these songs into context, isn’t it? If we understood the context better, maybe we would sing with more authentic gratitude and enthusiasm!

Come on then! It’s time to wake up! It’s time to be a part of this story. To make this the new story of your life. To believe in your role in this story. Because this is a new story that can be the reality for each one of us, but we can choose to stay in the old story and keep telling ourselves the old story…

Recently I heard the story of an elephant that stayed where it was with just a string around its ankle. Someone asked its owner why the elephant didn’t break free. The master explained the process – when the elephant was young, it had a big chain around its ankle. It tried repeatedly to free itself but couldn’t. It came to believe that with something round its ankle, it would never be free. Gradually the master replaced the thick chain with less strong chains until all that was necessary was a piece of string.

The elephant was living in the old story.

The new story is freedom and hope. The new story is good news.

How beautiful on the mountains
are the feet of those who bring good news,
who proclaim peace,
who bring good tidings,
who proclaim salvation,
who say to Zion,
‘Your God reigns!’  Isaiah 52:7

What story are you choosing to live in today?