“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 (NIV)
Isaiah 43:16-21 is a fascinating portion of Scripture with major implications for our lives. We must look at the original message to understand just how profound these verses are. Isaiah wrote this message to Israel while they were in captivity and exile. Because of their failures and sins, everything they knew was stripped away. They were in a foreign land, utterly stuck in discouragement. The landscape of their future seemed bleak, yet God had a different story for them. That’s how good He is.
Regardless of your circumstances, God has revealed a divine road map for how we can prepare for the new things He has in store for us. It’s time to get your hopes up!
- REMEMBER YOUR HISTORY WITH GOD.
First, God draws attention to the incredible things He did for Israel at the Red Sea (verses 16-17). He begins by reminding His people that He is the one who did the impossible. The sea violently split at a whisper of His voice. He is the one who drew out the massive enemy forces coming against them. The miraculous dry path He created was the only way Israel made it through the sea. And in the same way that He opened the sea for His people, He closed it on the enemy, totally destroying them.
We must remember God’s faithfulness in the past. He has been faithful even when we have been faithless.
“This is what the Lord says—
he who made a way through the sea,
a path through the mighty waters,
who drew out the chariots and horses,
the army and reinforcements together,
and they lay there, never to rise again,
extinguished, snuffed out like a wick …”
- FORGET THE OLD. FOCUS ON THE NEW.
Interestingly, God then tells them to forget the former things (verses 18-19). In exile, the people were constantly reminded of their defeats. They had resisted and rebelled against God, which led to their captivity. In essence, God is telling Israel that staying stuck in the past will keep them out of the new thing He is doing.
Regardless of what led you to this moment in your own life, turn your eyes off of your past and onto the One who holds your future in His hands. Any moment now, the new will spring up, and He will ask the same question of us: “Do you not perceive it?” When our focus is fixed on the Lord, we will see and perceive the new good thing He is doing for us!
“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?”
- PRAISE GOD FOR HIS REDEMPTION.
God then promises Israel a personal escort out of captivity, provision for their journey, and protection from the dangers of the wilderness (verses 19-21). This promise would have felt impossible to the people, yet God declared His character and nature to them. He dispelled their fears and said, “Don’t worry, I’ll take care of your every need.” Once again, He was leading His people to the Promised Land by way of the wilderness. The most fitting response to God’s remarkable redemption was to praise Him!
“I am making a way in the wilderness
and streams in the wasteland.
The wild animals honor me,
the jackals and the owls,
because I provide water in the wilderness
and streams in the wasteland,
to give drink to my people, my chosen,
the people I formed for myself
that they may proclaim my praise.”
You can trust God with all your needs. He is more for you than you realize. Not only is He redeeming your past with a glorious future, but He is also causing a new song of praise to rise up within you. The days of complaining, grumbling, and worrying are over. It is time to praise God for who He is and what He has done!
Do you perceive the new thing He is doing for you?
