Stop dwelling on the past. Don’t even remember these former things. I am doing something brand new, something unheard of. Even now it sprouts and grows and matures. Don’t you perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and open up flowing streams in the desert.
‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭43‬:‭18‬-‭19‬ ‭TPT‬‬

There’s a theme running through my conversations with God at the moment. It’s about letting go of what I know, of the experience and learning that I have…dropping all that ‘luggage’ and walking forwards into the unknown.

God is inviting me to approach each day at work, not relying on the 30+ years of knowledge and experience that I have available to me, but instead trusting on His direction and guidance for the day. It’s a new direction for me and I’m stumbling around on the unfamiliar path.

So what prompted me to take this new direction?

God speaks to me in a variety of ways, including numbers that I notice on car number plates, clocks, Facebook ‘likes’ and price tags. He often draws my attention to a certain number again and again until I become curious enough to ask about it.

For example, the number 22 kept drawing my attention for several days in a row. Then I ‘happened to’ pick up my phone at 9:22 on 22nd July and decided it was time to investigate. I often do an internet search at this point, putting something like “Bible verse 22:22” in the search bar. I scroll through the options until one of them draws my attention.

This verse did:

“You built a reservoir between the two walls in the city to conserve water flowing down from the old pool, but you gave no thought to the one who made it. You did not trust in the one who formed it long ago!”
‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭22‬:‭11‬ ‭TPT‬‬

God brings personal revelation from Bible verses by drawing my attention to a word or phrase – as though a spotlight is shining on those particular words. He may bring to mind a person or situation as I read the verse. Or I may suddenly have an understanding of something that I didn’t have before reading it.

When I read this verse I was drawn to the phrases: “You built a reservoir….to conserve water flowing from the old pool.” As I read those words I thought about my obsessive need to record in writing all the knowledge and understanding that I have gained both in my working life and in my personal journal. I understood that God was gently letting me know that these records were “water from the old pool.”

It was time to try a new strategy.

I started thinking about the story of the Israelites in the wilderness.

Then the Lord said to Moses, “I will rain down bread from heaven for you. The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day. In this way I will test them and see whether they will follow my instructions.”….Then Moses said to them, “No one is to keep any of it until morning.”
‭‭Exodus‬ ‭16‬:‭4&19‬ ‭NIV‬‬

The people were instructed to collect only what they needed for that day and not to keep any for the next day, as the stored food would rot overnight.

I also thought about the Lord’s Prayer:

“Give us today our daily bread.”
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭6‬:‭11‬ ‭NIV‬‬

One of my biggest fears, both at work and in my personal life, is not knowing what to do or say in challenging situations. That is why I have been so obsessed with recording everything that I have learned so far, so that when I am called on to do or say something I at least have some options to choose from.

But I understood what God was telling me through these verses…. “Trust me to give you the understanding that you need for each day. You need fresh revelation every morning because every day I am doing something brand new and you will miss it if you are still holding onto yesterday’s knowledge.”

Moses had the same fear as me, that he wouldn’t know what to say in the challenging situations that God was calling him into or that people wouldn’t listen to him or believe him.

This was God’s promise to Moses:

“Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say.”
‭‭Exodus‬ ‭4‬:‭12‬ ‭NIV‬‬

I will take that promise for myself and carry it with me as I embark on my new journey of trust.