A NEW THING

 “Do not remember the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing, now it shall spring forth; shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.”—Isaiah 43:18-19

I remember being in middle school and high school like it was yesterday. For me, middle school especially was a time of great trial and extreme pain. I was the one kid that had no friends, sat alone at lunch, and was bullied almost every day from the group of ‘cool kids.’ Maybe you can relate to a certain level and have been bullied yourself. One thing we can relate to though is having pain in our past.

In Isaiah 43, the Lord is speaking through his prophet Isaiah to Israel. The Lord says that he will be with Israel just as he had been with them in their flight from bondage in Egypt. When Israel was trapped between the Red Sea and the armies of Pharaoh, God made a way where there was none: a passage through the Sea.

“Thus says the Lord, who makes a way in the sea and a path through the mighty waters.”—Isaiah 43:16

I did not know it at the time, but God had so much more in store for me beyond my wildest dreams after middle school was finished. He led me through the waters away from destruction, and he is doing the same for you even though you may not yet see it.

Ultimately, God’s new thing was a plan of redemption through the death of his Son on the cross.

“Then he said, ‘Here I am, I have come to do your will.’ He [Jesus] sets aside the first to establish the second. And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.”—Hebrews 10:7-10

God has done and will do a new thing in your life. Whether you are currently going through a difficult time or have come through one recently, hear God say to you as he said to Israel, “Behold, I will do a new thing, now it shall spring forth; shall you not know it?”

DIG: What does the plan of Christ’s sacrifice mean to you? How does that change the way you face hard times?

DISCOVER: Where could God be doing something new and exciting in your life? Where could God be doing something new in the lives of those around you (family, friends, etc.)?

DISPLAY: Encourage others to seek what God is doing in their life. If they do not believe in Christ, share what he is doing in your life.