By Marni Montanez
Isaiah 43:19
New Living Translation (NLT)
19 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.
Since the beginning of the world God has been actively doing a new thing. He is a God of change and a God who is forever moving forward. In this passage when He says “I am about to do something new”, there is no time frame to this promise which makes it forever a present reality. It can and does apply to this moment. There is never a time when God is not doing something new or preparing for something new. Even the cells in our body continually rejuvenate.
When God speaks of a pathway in the wilderness, He is speaking of the direction that leads us through the continuing changes in our life and He assures us of His intimate involvement in every step we take. On these pathways He will give us direction, peace and hope when we must travel through our spiritual wildernesses. When He promises rivers in the dry wasteland, He is assuring us that He will refresh us in the midst of the dry times when we are not feeling His presence and things seem stale and mundane. And when we just can’t go on anymore He will send His strength to keep us uplifted and restored.
Our eyes must be watchful and our hearts open and expectant for the changes God is bringing into our life. Our God is the ultimate artist and He loves to create. He brings victories and transforming power into each situation we welcome Him into. What else can we be, but grateful for His tireless ministry to us? Every day is an opportunity for change to reveal incredible and amazing things and in these changes we allow ourselves to be drawn closer to Him and to the plans and purposes He has for our life. This is indeed good news. We must be willing vessels ready to face the head-wind of change and move forward in the renewed hope that God presents to us daily; If we don’t our lives will become stale and intolerable.
Challenge: Welcome the changes. There are some amazing things God is doing in this moment.
God bless
Marni
The purpose of this series is to encourage people to live as loving,
compassionate, and peacemaking children of God: Jesus tells us to pray, "Thy
kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven." (Matthew 6:10) God
tells us through Micah (6:8), "He has told you, O man, what is good; And what
does the Lord require of you But to do justice, to love kindness, And to walk
humbly with your God." And we know from Revelation 21:4 that there will be no
more mourning, or crying, or pain, or death. Thus, Christian living requires us
to set the standards of these conditions here on earth for our fellow human
beings, and for the other animals, as a witness to the rest of the world. To do
otherwise is not Christian.
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