Isaiah 43:19
"See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?"
I have a friend who lives on s shoestring. Carol is a close friend plagued with mental illness that prevents her from holding down a full time job. Carol picks up part time work here and there to make ends meet on her limited budget. Despite her desperate situation, as most people would view it, Carol sees life through rose-colored glasses. Every aspect of her life is a blessing from God. And no matter what Carol prays for, God is surely to bless her with it.
Recently numerous family plans caused panic for Carol. As her age in years began to increase, so did the telltale signs of lines and wrinkles. "I must do something about this before the event date," she exclaimed. "I can't go in there looking like this!"
Carol proceeded to track down a good skin technician in a plastic surgeon's office. Now, after knowing Carol for 20 years, I knew better than to ask where the money was coming from. You see, this type of situation happened before, and the money magically appeared for whatever Carol needed.
Whenever a dire situation happened that requires money, Carol goes immediately goes to prayer. And Carol isn't like most of us, she actually totally believes God will provide for her. Sure enough, two weeks later, her appointment was scheduled and completed, and her money was in hand. How does she do this I thought?
The scripture says that God wants to pour out "His far and beyond favor (Ephesians 2:7). He wants this to be the best time of our lives. But in order to receive this blessing we must enlarge our vision. That means you can't go around thinking, "I'll never get that money! Look what I make!"
You must EXPECT that God will bless you. That means you must conceive it in your heart and mind in order to receive it. When Jesus wanted to encourage his followers to enlarge their visions he said, "You can't put new sine into old wine skins" (Matthew 9:17). Centuries ago, wine was stored in leather wine skins. New wine always required new wine skins. If you poured new wine into old wine skins the effervescence of the new wine would cause the container to burst allowing it to flow freely to the ground.
You must be willing to get rid of your old wine skin. Start thinking larger. Get rid of that old negative mindset. See, God says, "See, I am doing a new thing! Do you not perceive it?" God is ready to do new things in your life. Are you ready to let go of the past?