A New Thing

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? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland. Isaiah 43:18-19 NIV

On a chilly December Sunday in 2019, a good friend of mine walked up to me and said God had given her a word for me. She gave me the verse Isaiah 43:18–19 and encouraged me that “there are always new beginnings in God.” I thought that was a lovely word! But I had no clue what to do with it. So I made a mental note of it and moved on.

Then, on an even chillier Sunday in January 2020, another friend approached me and also said she had a word from God. Among other things, she gave me Isaiah 43:18–19.

On a still chilly February day, I went out for coffee with a girlfriend. In the middle of our coffee date, she randomly blurted out, “Behold; I am doing a new thing! Do you not perceive it?” My jaw dropped! Filled with excitement, I explained to her how this verse had haunted me for the past few months, but I still had no idea what God was up to.

A month later, in March 2020, on a rare occasion, I logged onto my Instagram account and saw the famous speaker Christine Caine was doing a live stream. I decided to take a look, and just as I joined, she shouted in her Australian accent: “BEHOLD! I am doing a new thing! Do you not perceive it!!” Again, my jaw dropped! What was going on here? What kind of divine conspiracy was this? I started wondering with anticipation what wonderful and amazing things God might be cooking up!

But instead of an exciting shiny new thing, March quickly found itself submerged by a world pandemic which we all know too well. Instead of beginnings, we all experienced chronic shutdowns and endings. It was completely contrary to anything I could have anticipated or expected. It looked nothing like an exciting beginning. It’s as anticlimactic as a New Year’s Eve party filled with guests counting down to midnight with building excitement just to experience an unexpected power outage seconds before ringing in the new year—plunging everyone into darkness. Darkness isn’t how I picture new beginnings playing out…but God’s ways are very different than our ways.

“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. (…) [there was] darkness (…)” Genesis 1:1-2 ESV

In the beginning, there was darkness….  As counterintuitive as it sounds, God seems to love to start working in the obscure, secret, hidden places. Underground, where no one knows, and no one needs to know—just like a seed planted in the rich, dark soil. The Author of Life often uses darkness as His blank page. After all, the Light of the World shines more brilliantly when all the other lights go out.

It is also In the obscure hiddenness where God starts performing open-heart surgery on us. “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.” Ezekiel 36:26 NIV. From a new heart pours out new life. The rest of that chapter goes on to describe more ways God promises to bring new life: “This land that was laid waste has become like the Garden of Eden; the cities that were lying in ruins, desolate and destroyed, are now fortified and inhabited. (…) I the Lord have rebuilt what was destroyed and have replanted what was desolate. I the Lord have spoken, and I will do it.’” Ezekiel 36:34–36 NIV.

God breathes new life in dark places, whether it’s in an empty womb or an empty tomb. He does so from the outflow of who He is as our Redeemer, Saviour, Healer, Author and Finisher of our faith. He brings streams in the desert and gardens in wastelands.

He makes all things new.

Heavenly Father, thank you that darkness is no match for Your goodness! We pray that You would have Your way even if it looks different than what we expect. Come and give us a new heart; put Your Spirit in us. Refine us, Lord. Where there is a need for new life, God, breathe new life. Where we have fallen asleep, God wake us up. Come and do a new thing in us; let it reflect You and Your goodness. In Jesus’ name, amen!