“Forget the former things; do now dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?” (Isaiah 43.18 New International Version).
By Grant McClung
There is a desperate need for perception in our day.
Through mass media and the internet there is a knowledge explosion and information overload. The “haves” in the industrialized, “developed” world with stronger economies are afforded the luxuries of accessibility to literature, education, travel, and exposure to life experiences – including leisure and recreation – that broaden their interaction with a global environment and widen their knowledge, if not their wisdom. In short, this generation knows, sees, and experiences more — but understands less.
Most definitions of “perceive” use descriptors like “awareness,” “understanding,” “apprehension,” “comprehension,” “discernment.” A “perception” is insight, knowledge, or intuitive judgment. As a word, “perceive” is derived from the Latin word percipere – “to seize:” per – “thoroughly” + capere “to take.” Therefore, when insight or wisdom is “perceived,” it is “seized” and “thoroughly taken.”
In Isaiah 43.18 God does not invite a consideration but commands Israel – and us – to forget former things, flee a fixation on the past, focus on His current work, and firmly seize – thoroughly take hold of and embrace – what He is beginning in a new season… Full article here
Source : http://www.faithnews.cc
