A New Thing

“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past.

See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland. [Isaiah 43:18-19]

giftbox How long does “new” last?

Just a few weeks ago we celebrated a new year and opened new gifts. And, just like that, the shine disappeared. New isn’t new any longer.

Does it stop being new once you take it out of the box? Do you have to use it, program it, play with it, or wear it before it’s no longer new? Is there a time limit on “new?”

God spoke through Isaiah more than twenty-five centuries ago, proclaiming a new thing as revolutionary as a stream in the desert. To his contemporaries, the prophet spoke God’s promise to end their Babylonian captivity and restore Israel. Just as their ancestors were delivered from Egypt, the prophet foretold that this enemy would be crushed as well.

But Isaiah foretold not only a new thing for ancient Israel but for us as well. God has a different perspective on “new.” Apparently, God’s version of new doesn’t come with an expiration date.

God’s promise was fulfilled in Jesus and a new covenant, a promise that’s fresh every day. When we wander in darkness, God promises a new thing—the light of the world. When we’re thirsty and parched from the desert heat, He provides living water.

I don’t know exactly how that works, how something that’s eternal and never-changing can also be a new thing. But every time I fail and miss the mark, I’m grateful that I can trust the light to show me the way to a life-giving stream in the midst of my personal wasteland.

He’s doing a new thing, in your life and mine, every day. Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?

What new thing is God doing in your life today?

When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you.
When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned;
the flames will not set you ablaze. [Isaiah 43:2]