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
The children of Israel had been held captive in Babylon for 70 years (Jeremiah 29:10) when the word of God came to them declaring that God was “doing a new thing;” something they had never seen before. God was doing this new thing right there in the wilderness; in that uncomfortable wasteland; a place where they did not want to be. At the time they must have wondered what he meant. Isaiah writes, “Now it springs up; do you not perceive it (Isaiah 43:19a)?” After waiting 70 years, life must have felt like a wasteland; like a wilderness with no prospect of anything good coming out of that exile experience. Psalm 137: 4 captures their mindset at the time, “How can we sing the songs of the LORD while in a foreign land?” they ask. The Israelites felt as though the only way they could praise God was by going back home to a life that was familiar and comfortable.
Perhaps this is how you currently feel in your own spiritual exile. You may have been there for so long that your life feels like one endless wilderness. Like the children of Israel, you may be questioning how you can sing the LORD’s song in a foreign land (discomfort)? Indeed, how can you sing the Lord’s song when the doctor declares you are terminally ill; how can you sing the Lord’s song when you are in an abusive marriage and excruciating loneliness threatens your joy, when your family is falling apart, when the children are rebellious, when friends and family betray you, when the future is uncertain, when life is crumbling around you and you cannot see the way forward? How can you sing the Lord’s song when all you want to do is get out of your uncomfortable and painful situation and dwell in your blessing?
Today God says, render your praise now! Render it to God Almighty by faith because now is the hour of your redemption (2 Corinthians 6:2). He says, “…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.” God is turning your wasteland into a stream; he wants to bless you right where you are in the wilderness of your life. He is the God who triumphs over impossible situations and he is making a way for you through the pain and chaos surrounding you. He is creating something new; something you have never seen before. You may not be able to see it now, and it may even feel unfamiliar because of the disorder that surrounds you, but know this, he is making a way. He is bringing divine order into the circumstances of your life, and just as God brought the Israelites out of Babylon after 70 years, he will bring you out too no matter how long it takes because his promises are “Yes,” in Christ (2 Corinthians 1:20; 2 Corinthians 1:10). He is making a way!
Heavenly Father remind me to lean on you and not on my own understanding. Thank you for your care and protective presence over my life. I surrender everything concerning my life to you. Take the reins dear Lord. I trust in you completely and know that even though I cannot perceive it, you are making a way through the wilderness. Amen.