A New Thing

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Scripture: Isaiah 43:19 (ESV)

19          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.

 

Devotion:

           

            The original setting for the verse chosen for today was Isaiah prophesying to the people of Israel who were in captivity in Babylon. Isaiah was encouraging them that God would lead them out of captivity just like he led them out of Egypt in the past. This prophecy proved to be accurate and was fulfilled, but what do these words have to say to the church today?

 

            For the church in the West, it feels like we have been thrust into a new captivity. Our culture is being taken over by forces seemingly beyond our power to understand let alone control. We try to avoid conflict and make peace with these new cultural forces, but they do not want merely peace but utter control over all aspects of our daily lives.

 

            When the foundational freedoms we have enjoyed in the West for the last centuries are taken away (as it appears they soon will be) what can the church do? When we are lost and captive to a hostile culture the only appeal, we can make is to God. These words of Isaiah have spoken to us through the centuries. They tell us to look to our God. Because God is able to bring even the dead back to life. All our hope must be in Him.

 

            We need new ways of seeing and being in the world. New ways that rely on God as our rock and redeemer. Too long have we been dependent on the house built on the changing sands of time. Our cultural foundations shifted away from Jesus a long time ago. The time has come to repent and go back to Jesus so that we can move forward into this new world that is coming into being around us.

 

            We can rest assured that God is the God of eternity. He has foreseen all the changes that are taking place in the world today, and He will make a way for us to change in response. We must know that Jesus is our Lord and Savior and place our faith and trust in His eternal plan to save the world. We must be prepared to participate in the plans our God has laid out for the world. God wants to use each of us to tackle the challenges ahead of us. Let us ask God to make us ready for the new thing He is doing in the world.

 

Prayer:

 

            Lord, things are changing so fast in this world. We feel lost like the nation of Israel in the Old Testament. Help us to keep our eyes open to what you are doing in the world so that we may participate in your plan. May your will be done through us your servants. In Jesus name we pray this, Amen. 

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