See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland. Isaiah 43:19

Isaiah 43:19 is my favorite New Year’s verse. I think of it every year and ponder what it might mean for me in the new year.

It was written to Israel during a particularly bleak time in the nation’s history. Because of their disobedience, the northern Kingdom had been overrun by the Assyrian army and sent into exile in a foreign land. And dark clouds of impending doom were gathering against Jerusalem and the people of God.

When times of trial and struggle come, it is easy for our view of God to get obscured. We are tempted to believe that God, who promised to never leave nor forsake us (Deuteronomy 31:6, Hebrews 13:5), has done just that. We feel abandoned. We doubt his goodness, we doubt his sovereignty, we doubt that all things will work out for our good and God’s glory (Romans 8:28). After all, how can God be active in my life when ___________ (fill in the blank) is happening?

But the truth is, in the life of the believer, through the good times and bad times, whether we recognize it or not, God is always doing a new thing, he is always cultivating us towards life, he is always delivering his people. Even in the wilderness he is making a way and in the wasteland, he is bringing forth streams of water for dry and thirsty souls. The problem is, we often do not perceive it; that is, circumstances have blinded us to renewing and refreshing activity of God. We are questioning why we are in the wilderness or wasteland in the first place instead of looking for the streams and new path that God is creating.

What new thing is God doing in your life? In the life of your family? In the life of our church? Can you see it? Do you believe it?

Prayer: “Lord, I feel like I’m in a desert right now, give me eyes to see and faith to believe that you are doing a NEW THING!