Isaiah 43:19

I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland.

In recent years, I have talked to lots of churches about their vision. It’s really important for any organisation to be inspired by a clear and captivating vision for the future. It keeps us going when life is dull and hard work, and it keeps us heading together in a definite direction. However, time and again I have sensed that churches’ visions are for getting back to how things used to be. A church I once worked with had memories of the time when all 1,200 seats would be filled for the evening service. By the time I met them, they had shrunk to a small community of about 50 people at the Sunday services and they longed to put the clock back to the good old days. In many ways this is very understandable, but Isaiah tells us that God doesn’t want to take us backwards. His vision is for us to head on a new journey to a new place.

In this chapter, Isaiah speaks about the Exodus. This was a turning point in the life of the people of Israel. After 400 years in Egypt, during which they had lived as slaves, God had set them free by bringing them miraculously through the Red Sea on dry ground. They’d had a supreme experience of God’s salvation. In this passage, however, Isaiah tells them to forget about it. He doesn’t want them to dwell on the past. Wonderful as the Exodus was, God had no intention of doing a repeat performance. He wanted to lead them on an exciting new journey.

None of us can be certain what our future will look like – that is in God’s secure hands – but the one thing we can be absolutely sure about is that our future won’t be a repeat of the past.

Question

In what ways can you see God doing something new in your life?

Prayer

Loving God, help me to keep my eyes fixed on the new things that You are wanting to do in my life. Amen