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How to cross a threshold without carrying the wrong things forward.

Isaiah 43:18–19 is not a promise to comfort us as we enter a new season; it is a command that teaches us how to cross a threshold without carrying the wrong things forward. In this passage, God addresses not our memories, but our reference points. To “remember” and to “consider” are acts of authority in Scripture—they determine what shapes our expectations, our discernment, and our movement. Many people step into a new year with sincere faith but unknowingly carry old survival frameworks, past cost structures, and former season rules into territory where they no longer apply. This passage confronts that quietly dangerous habit.



Isaiah 43 Pivot Tool

The Pivot Tool that follows is not designed to help you plan the future; it is designed to help you separate seasons. Its purpose is to surface what once sustained you but is now limiting you, and to help you recognize what God is already doing without forcing it to resemble the past. Move through the questions slowly and honestly. Do not rush to spiritual answers—listen for what is true. This is not about striving into something new, but about releasing what has completed its work so you can see, respond, and step forward with clarity as the season shifts.


Use this tool to discern what must be laid down from previous seasons so you can see and respond to what God is doing now with clarity and peace.


PART I — “Do Not Remember”: Releasing Governing Authority

 

These questions help identify what you may still be summoning or giving authority to from a previous season.

 

Reflection Questions

  1. What season or years most shaped how I currently understand obedience, faithfulness, or endurance?

  2. What did faith cost me in that season—and do I assume it must cost the same now?

  3. What am I still referencing internally when I make decisions: survival, delay, restraint, loss, or waiting?

  4. Are there past victories, assignments, or deliverances that I subconsciously expect God to repeat rather than surpass?

  5. If I’m honest, what former season do I keep using to explain why I’m cautious, hesitant, or slow to move?

 

Discernment Check

  • What from that season was necessary then but is now limiting me?

  • What would it look like to honor that season without letting it govern the next one?


PART II — “Nor Consider the Things of Old”: Retiring Old Thinking Frameworks

 

This section focuses on how you may still be reasoning, analyzing, or discerning through outdated grids.

 

Reflection Questions

  1. When something new presents itself, what is my first internal response—excitement, suspicion, fear, or over-analysis?

  2. Do I tend to slow momentum down until it feels costly enough to be legitimate?

  3. What questions do I automatically ask God now—and were those questions shaped by past disappointment or delay?

  4. Am I over-processing clarity because I don’t yet trust ease or alignment?

  5. Where might I be using wisdom language to mask fear of moving forward?

 

Discernment Check

  • Which mental habits helped protect me before, but now distort clarity?

  • What old discernment grid needs to be retired so I can see accurately now?


PART III — “Behold, I Am Doing a New Thing”: Recognizing the Present Work of God

 

This section helps identify what is already emerging, not what they hope might come someday.

 

Reflection Questions

  1. Where do I see movement, traction, or alignment beginning to form right now?

  2. What feels different about this season compared to previous transitions?

  3. What is unfolding without me forcing it?

  4. What invitations, ideas, or openings feel peaceful rather than pressured?

  5. What have I hesitated to name as “God” because it feels quieter, cleaner, or easier than expected?

 

Discernment Check

  • What might God already be doing that I haven’t fully acknowledged yet?

  • If I stopped comparing this season to the last one, what would I clearly see?


PART IV — “Even Now It Is Coming”: The Timing Pivot

 

This helps you move from waiting posture to recognition posture.

 

Reflection Questions

  1. Do I live as though God is always “about to move,” or do I believe He is already at work?

  2. Where might I be postponing response because I think I’m still preparing?

  3. What would it look like to respond now instead of later?

  4. What step feels small, clear, and present—not hypothetical?

 

Discernment Check

  • What does “now” look like for me?

  • What would obedience look like if I trusted that the shift has already begun?


PART V — “A Way in the Wilderness / Rivers in the Desert”: Trusting God for Structure and Sustenance

 

This final section grounds people in how God will support what He initiates.

 

Reflection Questions

  1. Where have I felt like there was no clear path forward?

  2. Where have I been relying on my own endurance to sustain momentum?

  3. What would change if I believed God was responsible for the way—not me?

  4. What areas of my life feel dry, depleted, or over-managed?

  5. What would ongoing flow (not emergency provision) look like there?

 

Discernment Check

  • Where might God be changing the environment, not just helping me survive it?

  • What would it mean to trust replenishment rather than brace for depletion?


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