A few days ago I read something that prompted me to to look up this verse:
“Behold, I am doing a new thing;
now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?
I will make a way in the wilderness
and rivers in the desert.” – Isaiah 43:19 (ESV)
Then I looked at The Message translation (and remember, every time you look up a passage in The Message, the ESV totally rolls its eyes).
“This is what God says,
the God who builds a road right through the ocean,
who carves a path through pounding waves,
The God who summons horses and chariots and armies—
they lie down and then can’t get up;
they’re snuffed out like so many candles:
‘Forget about what’s happened;
don’t keep going over old history.
Be alert, be present. I’m about to do something brand-new.
It’s bursting out! Don’t you see it?
There it is! I’m making a road through the desert,
rivers in the badlands.’”
I couldn’t help but think about all the times when I’ve read this verse (no matter the translation) and been encouraged to stay the course, to trust that God is working in and through my circumstances.
And for a split-second I considered how strange it is that one verse – one little bitty verse – has been so consistently comforting to me.
But then I thought:
Well, that’s because He’s always doing a new thing.
Even when we’ve messed up so badly that we feel haunted – and sometimes taunted – by regret.
He’s always doing a new thing.
Even when relationships seem distant and strained and tense.
He’s always doing a new thing.
Even when sadness and hopelessness threaten to overwhelm us.
He’s always doing a new thing.
Even when we’re frustrated by all the stuff that we just don’t understand.
He’s always doing a new thing.
Always.
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