"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."
In its context, the verse is a promise to the Israelites who were in captivity in Babylon. God was letting them know that He was already preparing the way for them to leave Babylon and return to their land. It is also a foreshadowing to the promise of the coming Savior. Jesus coming to earth to live as a man, die on the cross, and come back to life three days later to pay the price for the sins of all mankind and give eternal life to believers was most definitely a new thing that God was going to do.
I love this glimpse of the New Testament deep in the Old Testament. It reminds me of my much less significant love of movies trailers. I love getting that first glimpse of a film that I'm eagerly anticipating. The fast paced clips thrown together with just the right music and text on screen or magical voice over give me a little thrill, especially when it is a film I want to see. I probably watched the first trailer for "The Force Awakens" dozens of times in that first week it was released. I clapped and cheered out loud when I first saw the trailer for the live-action "Beauty and the Beast". Even though those one or two minute clips leave me with more questions than answers and a whole lot of wait-and-see vibes, I just like knowing that something is coming!
As I've been reading this verse over and over, I've realized the concept of the movie trailer is biblical. Stay with me here. God is all about promises for the future, prophecy that reveals elements without giving away all the details, and building anticipation for what is to come. Prophecy gives us hope for the future, an opportunity to live out our daily lives with faith, and the assurance that God is in complete control of everything from the writing of the story and casting to the the production and final release date!
As we step into 2017, I hope that we are all doing so anticipating that no matter what our season of life may be, God is going to do a new thing in this coming year. If you don't believe that God is going to do anything new in your life this year, I'm hear to tell you that you are WRONG! In John 5:17, Jesus tells us, "My Father is always at His work to this very day, and I too am working." God has not stopped working in your life or mine. What's that? You say you don't see Him working? Well then, I'd be willing to bet you're not looking in the right place.
See, too often we accuse God of being absent, silent, or inactive in our lives when the truth is we are unhappy with one particular area of our life that is not going the way we want it. It's like my almost 2 year-old looking for a toy. He'll stand in one spot, in all of his cuteness, and move his head all around looking for the toy that is directly behind him. Even though I'll point to the spot behind him and tell him to turn around, he'll keep looking in the one direction he's facing because that's where he thinks the toy should be. Is it possible you're missing what God is doing in a particular aspect of your life because you are hyper focused in another direction?
I know I was guilty of this for a season when I was desperate for a child. I was so busy praying for and vigilantly watching for a healthy pregnancy, that I almost missed the incredible work God was doing in my marriage. It was amazing when I turned around one day and realized God had been doing a new thing in our relationship that I had prayed for long before. Thankfully, I didn't completely miss it! There was nothing wrong with me praying for a child, but it was dangerous to be come to focused on that one desire, that I missed the other things God was doing and wanted me to be doing in my life during that season.
I don't know what the new thing in your life will be, but I know it is vital that you turn 360 degrees and look for it! He may have actually started it in 2016 and is saying to you, "do you not perceive it!?" Let's step into the new year anticipating that God is already at work in our lives. Let's have eyes open to perceive that work He is doing. Let's be ready to set aside our own desires to embrace His will for our lives. I promise you will never regret receiving the blessings that God has chosen to give you!
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