Never doesn’t mean Never
“Never has doesn’t mean never will
hasn’t been doesn’t mean can’t be
what was doesn’t mean what is to come
and who you’ve been doesn’t mean who you will be.”
Loren Thornburg
It’s true that the past is often a good predictor of the future. In sports we study and predict what our opponents will do based on what they have done. In relationships we know friend’s tendencies to be late, to respond a certain way, to say a particular phrase based on what they have done. In life we are creatures of habit often clinging to the familiar ways of how it’s been. There are many times where this is true. ...but not always. Just because something has always been one way doesn’t mean it always will. Change is possible. The baseball team that usually struggles with the off speed can learn to adjust or the friend that usually flakes can be dependable. The same is true for us. We can change...from insecure to secure, from timid to bold, from foolish to wise, from depressed to joy, from lost to found. Who you’ve been doesn’t mean who you will be. Let us give ourselves and those around us the freedom to change knowing never have doesn’t mean never will. Though it’s been never, it’s possible.
"Sing, O childless woman! Break forth into loud and joyful song, O Jerusalem, even though you never gave birth to a child. For the woman who could bear no children now has more than all the other women," says the LORD.
Isaiah 54:1 NLT
God is a God of the impossible and He loves to show up in our impossibilities! He makes the impossible possible and He goes big when He does it!!! We see this here in Isaiah. He is saying not only will you have a child, you who have never had a child, but you will have so many, even more than all the other women. He says I won’t just meet your desires, I will exceed them. The same He is speaking to you, ‘Believe in me, child. I see your desires, I hear your pain. Don’t lose hope or be discouraged. Instead, Sing! Sing loud and joyful! For even though it seems impossible, even though you feel your desires have never been met I will exceed them beyond what you hoped or dreamed. So sing! For what was is not what will be when you believe in me!’
