God has called us, His people, to look forward this year, not backward. 

“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? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.”  (Isaiah 43:18-19 NIV)

In 2023 many of us had a year of battling, of learning to stand and not give up. It was an Ephesians 6 season of “after you have done everything … stand” (Ephesians 6:13b). It was a season of not necessarily taking new ground but simply holding onto the ground God has already given us. In 2024 this is going to change. 2024 will be a season of not merely standing, but moving forward in the Lord. 

Here are 4 important keys for moving forward this year:

FAVOR

“Sing, barren woman, you who never bore a child; burst into song, shout for joy, you who were never in labor; because ‘more are the children of the desolate woman than of her who has a husband,’ says the Lord.”  (Isaiah 54:1 NIV) 

God describes how His people feel — it looks and feels like they’re an unmarried woman who is barren, but who wants children. God says they are to burst into joyful song because in the spiritual realm they actually have more children. No matter what your circumstances look like, or the disappointments you’ve had, celebrate that you have what God says you have. We need to celebrate what God has said before we see it manifest — He has said we have His favor, and we must celebrate that favor! In the heavenly realm we have his favor. If we can celebrate what God has declared over our life, we will see it manifest. Celebrate God’s favor with songs and shouting. This is how we can actually pull God’s reality into this realm.

FAITH

“Enlarge the place of your tent, stretch your tent curtains wide, do not hold back; lengthen your cords, strengthen your stakes.” (Isaiah 54:2 NIV)

God is requiring a response of faith from us in light of the favor He has declared over our life — What does a response of faith look like?

• Enlarge . . . stretch. Reach beyond your capacity. The blessing of the Lord always involves an increase of capacity. We have to stretch ourselves because what God has for us is outside our comfort zone. If we’re comfortable with everything in our life as it already is, there is no need for more of God’s blessing. But if we want to experience the blessing of God, we have to stretch, to extend our faith. 
• Do not hold back. Sometimes we just have to say, “Lord, whatever you’re asking me to do, I will do it. You’re asking me to spend more time in Your presence and Your word, so I will do it and not hold back. You’re asking me to step out in faith and be generous — I will do it and not hold back, Lord.” There are times we miss out on what God has for us because we hold back, because we are comfortable where we are. Expansion isn’t always comfortable. 
• Strengthen your stakes. As the Lord speaks to you, write down His word and hold onto it. Write down the promises you’re holding onto. Repeat them, review them, remind yourself of them! God doesn’t speak to us just so we’ll have a fuzzy warm feeling and move on with our life. His promises, the prophetic words that have been spoken, the Scriptures He illuminates to you — these words are the tent stakes that are going to hold us up. 

Sometimes what God has for us is not comfortable, but God’s expansion is not about our comfort.

“For you will spread out to the right and to the left; your descendants will dispossess nations and settle in their desolate cities.”  (Isaiah 54:3 NIV)

As a church family, we are believing God for a building. He wants us to prepare for more people than what we have right now. We’re not looking for a building that will comfortably hold us as we are now (about 100 people or so). The supernatural outworking of the Kingdom family is growth. It’s not enough that we have a comfortable setting. The blessing of God is about the generations to come; it’s about the future. Our life in the Kingdom is to be about building something bigger and more lasting for our kids and grandkids and the generations to come. This is just like the nation of Israel in the Old Testament, who had to hold onto the prophecies about the Messiah; in each generation, they passed on faith and expectation for the coming Messiah. 

FIGHT

“Do not be afraid; you will not be put to shame. Do not fear disgrace; you will not be humiliated.”  (Isaiah 54:4a NIV)

When you are being used by God and experiencing the favor of God, there will be times you go through a battle. The enemy comes against us with the difficult phrase, “what if…?” (“What if God doesn’t come through? What if God abandons you…?”) We fight back with these phrases, “God said…” and “God declared…” and “I will…” The Lord always comes through. The flesh wants to give in to fear. God promised that those who trust in Him will not be put to shame. He will not let you down when you put your trust in Him. Fight back against the enemy using the promises of God’s Word. 

FORGET

“You will forget the shame of your youth and remember no more the reproach of your widowhood.”  (Isaiah 54:4b NIV)

The devil will always try to define us by our past; he tries to make us give up because of shame, grief, or regret. God does not define us by our past but by our future. God has good plans for us, always, future plans! We must be willing to forget the past. Sometimes in our flesh we want to hold onto the pain of the past or even a bad memory. Sometimes we find false security in holding onto something that already happened. God says, “Let it go.” What God has for us in the future requires us to be free of the past. You can’t run a marathon while carrying a hundred-pound weight. You can’t move into the future while holding onto the weight of the past.

FAVOR –

God’s favor is over my life; am I ready to move forward with what He says for this year?

FAITH –

How am I stretching, responding in faith to the steps God has shown me to take?

FIGHT –

Am I fighting back with the Word of God, rather than listening to the doubts of the enemy?

FORGET –

Am I willing to let go of the past, since God himself is willing to forget my past?

Be sure to check out the second part of this 2-part series here — Forward, Part 2.