DAY 07 | BRAND NEW

centering thought

“What has plagued you in the past is being redeemed. What is paralyzing you in the present is under his control. What lies ahead for you, if you will have it, is newness, goodness, grace.”

encouragement from God’s word 

Read: ISAIAH 43:19

devotional direction  

In the wilderness, it’s easy to feel lost; after all, “wastelands” are named that for a reason. 

We wander across the vast desert floor, unsure where we’re going or where we’ve been. We are hot. We are tired. We are thirsty. We are weak. There is no good to be found in this setting. This is where hope goes to die. 

Into this scene, God speaks words of encouragement: “I will make a pathway through this wilderness!” he assures us. “I will create rivers in the dry wasteland!”

We take in our surroundings and shake our head incredulously. “What a mocker you are,” we think. 

A pathway you’re cutting? Through this?

A river in this dust bowl?

We sneer. I will die here, we confirm in our deflated hearts. There is no way out for me.

We wander on, caring not where our feet are leading us … sand is sand is sand. But then, moments later, we spot it, a fleck of green in a sea of brown. We close the distance between that fleck and us, something that feels like hope rising up in our souls. We reach that fleck and shake our heads again. God was … God was right. 

It’s the smallest of buds we’ve come upon, a stubborn shoot bursting forth from the ground. “But how can it grow here, in this desolate place?” we hear ourselves say aloud. We laugh. We step back in awe.

That sprout is so inconsequential, considering the expanse of the desert floor. And yet there it stands with unabashed certainty, declaring that it has arrived to begin something new. 

question to ponder

If you were forced to name the tiny bud of beginnings that God is bringing forth, what would it be? What new thing can you crane to see?