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Today's Devotion
From Dr. David Jeremiah
Wisdom for the Year: Don’t Dwell on the Past
January 24, 2026
Do not remember the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing, now it shall spring forth; shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.
Isaiah 43:18-19
Recommended Reading:
Joel 2:25-2725 “So I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten,The crawling locust,The consuming locust,And the chewing locust,[{{f}}]My great army which I sent among you.26 You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied,And praise the name of the Lord your God,Who has dealt wondrously with you;And My people shall never be put to shame.27 Then you shall know that I am in the midst of Israel:I am the Lord your GodAnd there is no other.My people shall never be put to shame.
Joel 2:25-27
If you are entering the new year with a sense of regret over things that happened in the previous twelve months, remember this: God is the God of the future. God does not want us to dwell on the past but to trust Him for the future.
Isaiah exhorted the captives in Babylon not to dwell on the past, including the sins that resulted in their captivity in Babylon. Instead, God told them that He was going to do a “new thing,” referring to their deliverance from Babylon. He would make a “road in the wilderness” to bring them home. The same principle applies to us. We do not live in the past; we live in the present and look to the future for what God is going to do.
As you prepare for the year ahead, don’t dwell on the past. Believe that God has for you “a future and a hope” (Jeremiah 29:11).
Trust the past to the mercy of God, the present to his love, and the future to his providence.
Augustine
