Chasing “New”

It’s breeding season on the farm and we are in full swing! We have been super busy with cattle breeding. It’s always fun to plan for the next year’s calf crop, but it is also a little stressful! Should we or shouldn’t? That is always the question. Who to breed who to? What bull should we use? It also seems that we, along with every other cattle breeder, are always chasing new bulls. Who’s the next “great” bull? Who’s new?

We put a lot of time and homework into choosing the “right” bull to breed to each cow. It takes a lot of planning and we try to have a wide variety. It does always seem like we find ourselves chasing new bulls, new pedigrees and trying to make something great happen. This year we had a couple of different options and some of those made us stop and really think. One of the items we like to look at is progeny. What do past calves of the animal look like? Are there a lot of calves registered to a particular bull? If there aren’t, it makes you wonder why not?

One bull in particular, we had this conversation about. Husband wanted to use this bull, but the amount of calves that we could find from him was a little slim. Wonder why he wasn’t used more, was the main question? Were his calves just not that great? In our conversations, I told him, maybe it wasn’t that he wasn’t a good bull….maybe everyone just moved on to the next “new” bull. Maybe he just wasn’t used as much because everyone thought some better bull had come along… Maybe?

We went ahead and used that bull. Let me tell you… I hope we aren’t disappointed because I can’t wait for those calves to hit the ground!

This entire scenario fit right into where God has been speaking to me. I watched social media around New Year’s and sooo many people were posting the same scripture. Now, don’t get me wrong, this is one of my favorites, but for some reason I was so bothered by it.

“Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it?” Isaiah 43:19

I really began to pray and ask The Lord why this was bothering me so much. I felt directed to go to one of my favorite commentaries. What I read hit me square between the eyes! That is why I was so bothered!! (David Guzik is awesome and if you haven’t read/listened to him, you really should!)

God said, “Behold I will do a new thing.” He will do the new thing, not us! We are so busy trying to do the next new thing when all the while, that was HIS job! We chase a new diet, a new supplement, a new financial plan, new friends, new, new, new! When He is saying, “Hey….over here….If you will just follow me, follow my plan…. I’ll do the new thing! I will show you what’s next!”

Go read Acts 17:21. “We can make an idol out of the “new.” We can err as the people of Athens did who spent their time in nothing else but either to tell or to hear some new thing (Acts 17:21). We can be tossed about by every wind of doctrine. But we can also err on the other side of the balance, and work against the new thing God wants to do.” (David Guzik)

Just like cattle breeders who get busy chasing the next “new” bull or “new” pedigree…. the people of Athens spent all their energy chasing “new”. When we chase new, we stop chasing God!

In the rest of that verse He asks, “Shall you not know it? God asks the same question today. “Will you stay in step with My Spirit? When He leads into something new, shall you not know it?” (David Guzik)

We will only know and recognize the “new” thing, when we are chasing GOD. We can’t see it, when we are so busy trying to find it or make it happen. All we have to do is follow HIM. Chase HIM.

So for 2022, Lord I am chasing YOU!