Devotional 6
“Forget the former things, do not dwell on the past. 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 43:18
“Being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. Philippians 1:6
Transformation. Renewal. New life. Metamorphosis. Rebirth. These scriptures pulse with a sense of direction and purpose in God. They fill me with excitement and hope. God is in the business of transformation. He is constantly renewing. Throughout scripture, we see God at work creating a new thing. When the whole earth was filled with evil, God washed it clean with a flood and started anew with Noah and his family. After the Israelites wandered in the desert for eighty years, God led them to the promised land. After four days in a tomb, Lazarus is called out of the dark and death into light and life. A rock brings forth a spring of fresh water. A bitter, undrinkable lake turns sweet. Leprous flesh – literally dying and decaying – becomes new and alive again at the word and will of Jesus.
In Isaiah 43:18, God directs us to get our focus off the past: our pain, our failures. He points out the beginning of new life. “I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.” The imagery in that sentence always fills me with anticipation. It reminds me of a tiny bud on a spring tree just about to burst into green. New growth. New life.
Take a look at your own life today. Have you been in the wilderness? Are you feeling dry and dead? We all walk through the wilderness at various points in our journey of life. But take another look at your wilderness. Look closely. Can you not see it? There is the beginning of new
life: a tiny shoot of green has taken root. A fresh and cool stream of water is beginning to bubble up in your soul. Let the word of God take root in your heart today. He is calling you into new life and purpose with Him. Be confident in the plan and purpose he has for you. He has
started a good work in you and he will bring it to completion!