Get Rid Of Your Securty Blanket

I was praying about the new year a few days ago. . .when the word of the Lord came to me saying: 

“Tell my children that I’m more interested in them experiencing a new thing than the new year.”

Isaiah 43:19 says:

“Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.” 

Get ready.  It’s time for a new thing. . .

In order to get something new in your future. . .you must be willing to let go of the past.

God does not want us holding onto the past. . .He wants us anticipating the future and the new thing He is about to do in our lives.

We’re sometimes reluctant to let go of the past. . . it’s so familiar that we’ve grown comfortable, but God is wanting to do a new thing in your life.

Joshua told the children of Israel that their menu was about to change.  Only when you leave the old can you embrace the new.

Joshua 5:12 says:

“And the manna ceased on the morrow after they had eaten of the old corn of the land; neither had the children of Israel manna anymore; but they did eat of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year.”  

In order to get something new in your future . . . you must be willing to let go of the past.

Sometimes we hold onto our security blankets.

I love the “Peanuts” cartoon strip.  One of my favorite characters is Linus Van Pelt.  He is the piano-playing younger brother of Lucy Van Pelt who is always a nemesis to Charlie Brown.

While Linus by all accounts is very smart. . .he is rarely seen without this security blanket.

That’s cute in a comic strip but not in real life.

Do you have a security blanket?  I’m not talking about a literal blanket but a mental security blanket.

Have you been reluctant to try that idea that God has been stirring in your spirit . . . because of a fear of failure?

Joshua 8:1says:

“And the LORD said unto Joshua, Fear not, neither be thou dismayed: take all the people of war with thee, and arise, go up….”

Have you refused to look for a different job because you’re more afraid to leave what has become familiar to you?

Percy down in Houston, Texas had worked on the same job for 15 years because it was comfortable.  After he attended a seminar I did about ten years ago, he went home and prepared his resume. 

The next week he took a day of vacation and went looking for a new job.  Within two weeks, he had a new job which was closer to his home. . .with a twenty-five percent increase in pay . . . plus he got a company car.

Percy turned loose of his security blanket. . .and got ready for a new thing.

Sometimes people will not turn loose of their security blanket to embrace a new thing because of fear.  Fear is the devil’s anointing and it’s kept many a good person from fulfilling their destiny.

James 3:2 in the New Living Translation says:

“Indeed, we all make many mistakes. For if we could control our tongues, we would be perfect and could also control ourselves in every other way.”

We’re not perfect. . .we’re going to make mistakes. . .we just need to learn from them so we don’t make the same mistake twice.

Be encouraged by 2 Timothy 3:14 in the Message Bible:

“But don't let it faze you. Stick with what you learned and believed, sure of the integrity of your teachers—why, you took in the sacred Scriptures with your mother's milk! There's nothing like the written Word of God for showing you the way to salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. Every part of Scripture is God-breathed and useful one way or another—showing us truth, exposing our rebellion, correcting our mistakes, training us to live God's way. Through the Word we are put together and shaped up for the tasks God has for us.”

Now if you get nothing else from this teaching. . .I want you to get a hold of the next 55 words:

If you dwell on past hurts, failures, broken relationships and financial mistakes, then you’re doomed to repeat them.

Isaiah 43:18 in the Message Bible says:

“Forget about what’s happened: don’t keep going over old history.”

Here’s a fact. . .God can’t do a new thing in your life as long as your living in the past.

That ends the fifty-five words.

I said this before, but I think it bears repeating.

In order to get something new in your future. . .you must be willing to let go of the past.

You must be willing to let go of four hours of television every night. . .to read a book that will stir your faith, lift your level of expectation and move you into a new attitudinal realm.

You must be willing to let go of the memories of business ideas that went wrong or failed so God can do a new thing in your life.

You’ve got to be willing to let go of abusive or co-dependent relationships so God can move you in friendships that are wholesome and scriptural.

You’ve got to be willing to let go of some friendships that are toxic to your attitude and dreams for the future.

You’ve to be willing to change. . .so God can do a new thing in your life.

To experience major breakthroughs in your daily living. . . you must move beyond what is comfortable and . .  take a step of faith.

In Joshua 5:12 we read where Joshua told the children of Israel that what they had been used to. . .their dietary security blanket was changing.

“And the manna ceased on the morrow after they had eaten of the old corn of the land; neither had the children of Israel manna anymore; but they did eat of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year.”  

Once the children of Israel stopped their old way of thinking, doing and eating. . . there was a supernatural encounter.

Joshua 5:13-15 in the New Living Translation says:

“When Joshua was near the town of Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with sword in hand. Joshua went up to him and demanded, “Are you friend or foe?” ¹⁴ “Neither one,” he replied. “I am the commander of the Lord’s army.” At this, Joshua fell with his face to the ground in reverence. “I am at your command,” Joshua said. “What do you want your servant to do?”  ¹⁵ The commander of the Lord’s army replied, “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did as he was told.”

In the first few verses of Joshua 6 we read where God tells Joshua how He will deliver Jericho into his hands. . .so the children of Israel experience their first great victory in the Promised Land.

Do you want to experience the presence, power and promotion of the Lord?  Then let go of your emotional security blanket.

If you want to experience the new thing God is wanting to do in your life. . .if you want to feel His presence. . .if you want to enjoy His victories, then you’ve got to leave the familiar behind and embrace the new.