A New Thing

Isaiah 43:18-19 (NLT)

“But forget all that—it is nothing compared to what I am going to do. For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland.”

I’ve been ruminating on this scripture for a few years now. It’s a simple concept, but it’s been a challenge for me to process. Because my mind keeps associating the word “new” with “refresh,” but that’s not what God is saying here.

The Hebrew word for “new” in Isaiah 43:19 is “chadesh,” which literally means “the ability to create something that did not exist,” according to the Topical Lexicon.

If you have walked with God in any capacity during your lifetime, you’ll have walked through both abundant and lean seasons.

We love those abundant seasons; it’s easy to praise, testify, and move forward when things are overflowing. However, those lean seasons are challenging; the quiet time is difficult; the loneliness is overwhelming. But it’s in those lean seasons that God prunes back and cuts out what we don’t need and/or what will hinder us from moving forward.

The grief of losing things can be tough.

Jobs. Relationships. Friendships. Hobbies. Nothing is off the table. And so we lose things, and most of the time, it’s things we really care about. We might wonder why God couldn’t remove that petty neighbor as easily as He seems to remove that best friend. Why can’t God give me a better boss, or why can’t God fix my spouse? It almost feels like God doesn’t remove the things that make life hard; it almost feels like He’s removing the things that appear to keep us going. Things that look positive; things that bring us joy; things that provide for our lifestyle. Good things. Things we love. Things we care about. Yet, all these things are subject to pruning.

So when we find ourselves in a lean season and wondering where God is, take heart, my friend, He’s not doing it to punish you; He’s actually creating something that has never existed.

Pretty cool, right?

It’s a different perspective. Instead of focusing on what we no longer have, it’s a shift to see and focus on what God is actually doing. It doesn’t take away all the sting of the pruning, but it does give us hope that better things are to come.

And so we find ourselves in the state of transition. Not what we once were, but not yet what we’re supposed to be.

Transitions are complex, no matter where they’re happening. There’s anticipation, excitement, fear, and anxiety all wrapped up in what looks like a massive rubber band ball. It looks and feels like chaos.

Personally, I will sit there and try to unscramble the chaos because I want to “know”. I don’t like waiting; patience is not my virtue, yet God still requires it. And so, to stare at chaos and trust that it will somehow get unscrambled without my help seems impossible. I mean, God needs my help, right?!

No. In fact, this has been a season of God teaching me to be still and know that He is God.

Psalm 46:10 (NKJV)

He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”

Everything He does in your life and on this earth is ultimately to bring the focus and attention back to Him. As the Creator of the universe, I mean, He deserves it, don’t you think? He’s our heavenly Father and the one truly living God, and there is no other.

And so I’m learning that God doesn’t need my help to unscramble chaos; He doesn’t need me to figure it out; He doesn’t need me to fix things. He needs my surrender because surrendering my heart and plans is the only way to survive this transition from the old to the new.

And all that to say, as much as it truly, truly sucks to have precious things removed from your life, if God brings them back to you, they will be different than what they once were. It’ll come back better. It’s not to say that what you had before was bad, but maybe God sees how much better it could be with some tweaking.

So, this morning, as I pondered “I’m doing a new thing...”, I forced myself to shift my perspective: it’s not going to look like what it did in the past; it’s going to look different. It’s hard for me to comprehend this because I don’t understand how that works. I think of it like this:

If I’m at a job and I get a promotion, I may still be at the company, but my role and responsibilities have changed; it’s new. If you’re friends with someone and you start dating, it’s the same person, but the relationship has changed; it’s new.

The process is God’s; it’s not for me to unscramble. Isaiah also reminds us that God’s thoughts and His plans are higher than ours; we can’t even begin to compete on His level. He plays 5D Chess, and we’re playing Checkers. We can’t compete.

So, in this process of transition, as you watch things change and process the loss of things that once were, I encourage you to take comfort in the fact that God is creating something specifically for you that has never existed. It won’t be a refresh of the past; it will be completely new.

I conducted a word study of Isaiah 43:19, reading several translations and consulting the Hebrew root words. Here’s what I wrote down for reference: “Watch! At the time I have chosen, I will accomplish something that has never been done before. It will happen unexpectedly, and you will know it when I do it. I will combine and construct substances and circumstances in an undeveloped place so you can move forward on the road I have prepared for you. I will make sure there is a way for you to keep going. Even if you’re walking in a dry, barren, sweltering desert and you are thirsty, I will not just give you water; I will give you rivers. I will provide far beyond what you need.”

Things will look different, feel different, they will be different, but they will be better than you could imagine.

 Trust God because He’s working all things for your good; He’s making all things new.

Romans 8:28 (NKJV)

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”

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