I Am Doing a New Thing!

Listen:

“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)

Reflect:

There is such hope in these words and they became like a mantra for me in the advent season last year. I have been living with uncertainty for many years now. A relationship breakdown with no resolution, single parenting, changes in career and a move half way around the world. Last week I moved all my possessions just down the road and this week, I moved to be with my aged and ailing mother in her last season.

At the end of 2022, I believe God was telling me He is making all things new. I’ve also heard how uncertainty is a part of our Christian life. And most recently I heard Him say clearly that I should ‘dare to hope’.

God says, “See… do you not perceive it?”. No, I don’t always see it, but I trust in God’s word. He has never failed me. He says, “I am making a way in the wilderness.”. Sometimes I try and make my own way, but God tells me to wait on Him and He will provide. Yes, I live with a broken relationship, but I have a strong and supportive faith community that journeys with me through the ups and downs. Yesterday, I received a gift from a kind friend, who promised to be praying with me through this change.

I teeter between complete faith that God is indeed “making a way in the wilderness” and the wilderness experience. My challenge is to live that victorious life, in the uncertainty, with God going before me, beside me and behind me. I only need to take one day at a time and trust He is making “streams in the wasteland”. He has done it in the past, He will do it again!

Questions to Ponder:

1. When you are struggling with uncertainty, is there a verse or past experience of God’s faithfulness that can help you move forward with Him?
2. What ‘new things’ has God brought into your life when you weren’t expecting them?
3. In the midst of uncertainty, what do you know of God that is certain?

Prayer of Response:

Jehovah Jireh, my Provider, I trust you now with this new day. Surprise me with Your love. Open my eyes to see new paths and grant me the faith to walk on them with You. Amen.

—Submitted by Lis Ho
Currently living with one foot in the UK and one foot in France supporting my mother and siblings in one country and my son in his final year of high school in the other! I grateful to God for my worldwide faith community and for His mercy as I travel this new path.