A New Thing

“Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.”   Isaiah 43.19

I am sure you have read, heard, studied that verse countless times.  It’s one of my favorite verses.  However, the times we are in right now gives me a new perspective.

I like “new things”.  I also like “old things”.  I remember getting a brand new leather glove for Little League.  I loved the smell of the leather.  I oiled it, put it under my pillow to flatten it out, make it pliable to fetch groundballs.  It served me well.  FOR YEARS!  It basically had run its course, and I needed a new glove.  I did not want to change gloves.  The one I had was perfect, for me at least.  I was used to it.  I was comfortable with it.  It was broken in.  I tried the new glove, but I kept going back to the old one.  The new one wasn’t broken in.  It didn’t have the same smell.  It hadn’t been with me very long.

When it comes to life, it’s a lot like my old baseball glove.  I like routine.  I like being comfortable.  I like knowing what to expect.  The problem is life changes – seasons come and go.  What I needed as a child, I no longer need as an adult.  In fact, what I needed in college, is not what I need today.  And, if I’m honest, what I needed last year, is probably not what I need going forward.  Fortunately, God knows what I need, when I need it.  He also knows what I don’t need, and when it’s time to let go of something that will no longer help me get to where I need to go.

Even now God is “doing a new thing”.  Yes, right now.  God is always moving.  He doesn’t change, but He’s changing us.  He uses everything in our life to take us to where He knows is a better destination than where we are currently.  No wonder the Apostle Paul admitted,  “Not that I have already obtained it, or have already become perfect, but I press on….”   Philippians 3.12

What is particularly interesting to pay attention to in Isaiah 43.19, is not that God is “doing a new thing”, or that God “will make a way” for us, or give to us “rivers”.  The key for me is when God will do a new thing, make a way, or provide rivers.  It’s while we are in the wilderness and the desert.  Yes, God is always “doing a new thing”.  He is doing something new in the good times of life, but He will also “make a way” and provide “rivers” in the barren times.  It could be like what we are going through now, when we are not sure what to expect life to get back on track.  It could also be a time when our soul feels barren and parched.  So, don’t rush through this time.  Pay attention to what God is doing in you and around you.  Be willing to let go of the old, and receive what God has for you now that will carry you into the future.  Recognize what you are going through, what you are experiencing, and ask God to show you what He knows is going on from your perspective and to show you “the way”, and to refresh your soul.