God’s Not Doing a New Thing for You

Understanding this changes everything. Please hear me out…

“I have a new car for you!”
“I’m giving you a gift card for a year of free gas!”
“You see this? [points to a bank account] I just paid off all your debt!”

Wow! Yes! Hooray! Thank youuuuuuuu! Right?

But…what if the “you” wasn’t you? What if the “you” was your cousin or friend or a co-worker? That would be a disappointment – but could you still be happy for the person on the receiving end of any of this great news? Sure. Could you still be impressed by the generosity of the person doing all that giving? Of course.

Good news is, well, good news even if it isn’t to you specifically. Because their happiness, relief, solutions – any of that – is not only good for them it does benefit you in that you can feel the joy for them and you also have a friend who is now less troubled or stressed – and isn’t that a good thing?

Also, you can be blessed by knowing or even knowing about this generous and kind person in their life, right? Their kindness tells you a lot about them even if you weren’t there when the great news happened and you only got to hear about it later. You can still come to know that amazing person a bit better and that’s a good thing as well.

“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 43:19

What a great verse. What a wonderful idea. How inspiring and hope-filled. It’s the lead verse for almost every New Year’s Day post on social media. And why not? It’s got the word “new” in it and when we’re thinking about the new year why not search the Bible for a verse about new things and see what God has to say. Right?

A rough year is behind us. We’ve lost loved ones. We’ve been through so much and feeling weary is getting old. We’re ready for something new. Isn’t this just the verse we need right now?

Well, here’s the thing: that verse – those words – were given as a huge and wonderful promise to real people in an actual moment of history that took place during a dire situation about 3000 years ago. Those people were in big trouble – trouble they brought on themselves – because of their evil, god-rejecting, behavior. God had promised to love and protect His people, but they continually rejected Him, and true to His Word God brought the punishment they deserved.

As great as these “new thing” words and that scenario of promise was, they – like the imaginary good news scenarios I opened with – were not written to you.

God didn’t speak this promise to you to do “a new thing.” He didn’t say to you, “I am making a way…” He gave these words to His beloved chosen people – the broken and enslaved nation of Israel who had left the only true God and had betrayed their God and worshipped false gods.

Words of hope for hopeless people, yes. Words for you this new year? No.

But, hold on. That’s not the end of the story, and it’s actually better than this popular Instagramable verse seems!

While God didn’t speak those words to you, can you still enjoy them? Of course. Can you still be happy for His people? I hope so. Do those words and promises tell you something wonderful about God? Absolutely! And that right there is what you should be most thrilled about.

While God didn’t speak those words to you, He did have them recorded for you – they are there to remind you of your spiritual heritage and more importantly, God’s character.

It’s your heritage if you are part of God’s family today. If you have accepted Jesus – the promised messiah – then you, like the people of Israel, are a child of that promise and a holy priest in God’s new nation.

So big and wonderful are these words that the New Testament writers talk about this promise in nearly every page – that new thing God was talking about didn’t happen right away for His people. In fact, they had over 400 years of waiting. But, it did happen and boy was it new and great! We just finished an entire season of celebrating that news – Christmas. The “way” God promised to make wasn’t just any old “way” out of the desert and trial they were experiencing – it was The Way, Jesus. And the new thing was the power of the Holy Spirit who now dwells in everyone who believes in Him.

What if this was the year you really grasped the truth of God’s promises. What if God’s Word was more than just a social media post. What if the riches of knowing God – really knowing Him really gave you the steadfast anchor of hope you’re going to need in the year ahead?

Read the Bible this year. Read the whole thing, not just quips and quotables that make for cute t-shirts and wall art. You do yourself a huge disservice when you cherry-pick verses and wear them like a seasonal pair of earrings that match your outfit for the day. The Bible doesn’t say to hop and skip through the words, it tells us to meditate on it day and night, to let it be a hiding place, to fill your heart and mind with it.

I know reading a quick verse is easy. I realize devotional books can be that helpful spiritual fix we’re looking for. But let this be the year you really do what God has asked, “let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly.” Make this year the turning point for you to not just follow God but to truly know Him.

As we begin this new year I hope you’ll deepen your appreciation for the God who didn’t make this particular promise to you, but did open a way for you to join in and receive the benefit of that promise. I hope you’ll find that quoting a verse out of context isn’t a good thing but knowing the God of that promise is.

Below are resources to help you read and move through God’s word in a way that will give you the full story and not just out-of-context snippets. Enjoy! Read. Dwell. Know the God that made a way for you.

Start Here – Read the context of this “Behold, I am doing a new thing” verse Isaiah 43:1-28 – It’s really amazing!
Then join me here… The Dwelling Richly Bible study – open to all. We meet in person and online three different days every other week so it’s super convenient for any schedule and you’ll get a helpful daily outline to guide you through the Bible. Details here

Here’s three of my absolute favorite resources. Each are available online as well as in an app – super convenient!

Thank you for reading this post. I’d love to hear from you in the comment section below. God bless and may this year be the year you really grow in your faith by knowing God. Subscribe to this blog and join me as I share my journey of faith with you this year!

Blessings,
~ Jennifer