Do you need God to move in your life in a new way? That’s the season I’ve been in as well. And honestly, at times we gather together and proclaim that God is doing a new thing. While other times the preacher says there is nothing new under the sun.
It’s hard to figure out sometimes. Yes, there are times He is preparing to do something new, but other times, He is waiting for us to do that last thing He showed us. What do we do then, when we need something to change? When there is a big challenging circumstance that only the LORD can shift? We dig into the Bible and pray like we are doing here today!
Where in The Bible Does it Say God is Doing a New Thing?
The Bible talks about the Lord doing a new thing. Did you know?
What Scripture says about new beginnings is beautiful! We serve a God of new beginnings, a God who is continually doing a new thing. He brings new life, He restores broken things, He is amazing! (2 Corinthians 4:16-17; Lamentations 3:22-24; Revelation 21:1-3; Colossians 3:9-11; 2 Corinthians 5:17)
Specifically, though, where in the Bible does it say God is doing a new thing? The most specific verse is Isaiah 43:19.
“Behold, I am going to do something new,
Now it will spring up;
Will you not be aware of it?” (Isaiah 43:19 NASB)
Today we will look deeper into what Isaiah 43 is talking about when He says, “Behold I do a new thing.” We will see how to apply this passage to our lives and how to not miss it when God wants to do a new thing in your life!
Where in the Bible does it say God is doing a new thing? And how do we embrace that? Click To TweetWhat Is Isaiah 43 Talking About?
Before we jump into this God is doing a new thing Scripture, we need to understand the context. Context is key to truly understanding the Bible and practically applying it to our lives!
“But now, this is what the Lord says, He who is your Creator, Jacob,
And He who formed you, Israel:
“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by name; you are Mine!” (Isaiah 43:1 NASB)
In Isaiah 43, the Israelites were in the midst of Babylonian exile. And into that reality, God says, “Do not fear.” They were facing scary things. Real things that really cause fear:
- Far from their homeland.
- Too far in the desert with no hope of escape.
- Not free to worship as they believe.
- Literally persecuted by a nation that just wants them to be Babylonian.
- Death and deportation were a daily reality for those who would not conform.
- Daily temptation by the pagan things all around.
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Fear
And God said, “Do not fear.”
Do not fear being far from home. Do not fear a hostile enemy who is just waiting for an opportunity to wipe out your entire race. What?
They were not supposed to be afraid of REAL things that are terrifying! What does that say to us today?
The things I fear are far less terrifying than what they face. Yet, often, my first response is fear. Now, the things I face are real and hard, but a different kind of hard.
And Yet, God begins this Word by reassuring them and calming them in the midst of their fears.
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What Have We Been in Bondage To?
The Israelites were in exile, in bondage, as a direct result of sin and hardheartedness.
Just pause a moment and read that again. In bondage as a direct result of their sin and hardheartedness!
Generation after generation, they had been turning from God’s ways. They had turned for so long… to the point that they did not even know His Word.
Into that brokenness, God spoke. He spoke into the hopelessness they brought on themselves.
I don’t know about you, but that stirs hope inside of me.
Do you need hope?
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Are you in a mess of brokenness that your either partially or fully brought upon yourself?
This word is for you then. (And me too)
How To Prepare For A New Thing from God
It is so easy to get excited about verses 16-21, the new thing God will do, but God doesn’t start there. Nope, He starts by reminding them of some things that will help along the journey back to His heart.
These are things that will help us today as well. We need God to move in a new way. We need God to deal with this big challenging thing in front of us. So, this message is for us as we lean into what He said to Israel.
When we are preparing for a new thing from the Lord, we must remember:
- Who He is.
- Where we started.
- What He’s done to change that.
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Remember Who God is When God is Doing a New Thing
We all have a story. What is yours?
Who has God shown himself to be to you?
But now, this is what the Lord says, He who is your Creator, Jacob,
And He who formed you, Israel:
“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by name; you are Mine!” (Isaiah 43:1 NASB)
In this season, the Lord is reminding me that He is God:
- King of the universe.
- Creator of all things.
- Not only did He make me for a purpose,
- He redeemed me.
- I am His.
Sit in that for a moment. He has done mighty things in your past, much like Israel. Take a moment and remember them. Write them down to cement the remembrance.
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Where Did You Start in Life?
Israel had a history with God. A big, miraculous history that we are still talking about thousands of years later! As God begins talking about the new thing He wants to do, He reminds them about the powerful things He had already done for them.
“When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
And through the rivers, they will not overflow you.
When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched,
Nor will the flame burn you.
For I am the Lord your God,
The Holy One of Israel, your Savior;
I have given Egypt as your ransom,
Cush and Seba in exchange for you.” (Isaiah 43:2-3 NASB)
God split the Red Sea for them. He parted the Jordan River for them. The Lord was a pillar of fire by night and a pillar of cloud by day. Remember what the LORD has done in your life!
He fought battle after battle for them to give them land. They inherited houses they didn’t build and ate from fields they didn’t plant. Remember how God provided before!
How Did He Change Everything?
So, God wants to do a new thing in your life, first He needs you to remember the great things He did in the past for you! The Lord was about to move in a powerful new way for Israel, but He began with a history lesson.
Then, He reminds them that He is the one who changed everything for them. Isreal was a people of slaves. God rescued them from slavery. They were homeless vagabonds. God gave them a land of their own. Why?
Why does God free any of us from our slavery to sin and selfishness? What causes Him to give us the promise of an eternal home and a new name?
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Love!
God loves you. He loves us. He loves Israel.
As Isaiah 43 continues He talks about loving and honoring His people – gathering them back from all the scattering of captivity.
“Since you were precious in My sight…
And I have loved you…” (Isaiah 43:4 NKJV)
It is important to remember, however, that God doesn’t love us because we are lovable. Nope, we are a hot mess. Remember, they were in captivity because of generations of unrepentant, willful sin. No, God didn’t love them because they deserved His love.
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God’s People’s Purpose
So why did He love them? Why does He love us? Because He is God, He is good, and He keeps His promises. This redemption is about spreading His fame, His kingdom, and His power.
“You are my witnesses,” says the Lord, “And My servant whom I have chosen, that you may know and believe Me, and understand that I am He. Before Me there was no God formed, nor shall there be after Me.
“I, even I, and the Lord, and besides Me there is no savior…
“And there is no one who can deliver out of My hand; I work, and who will reverse it?” (Isaiah 43:10-13 NKJV)
We are His people. He has a plan for our lives that is bigger than our big, difficult challenges. We are His witnesses.
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One God
While Israel is asking God to come in and move in a new way, it sort of seems like they are getting a harsh yet tender reprimand. Do you see it?
Eventually, He does get to the, “I am doing a new thing, behold,” part, but He starts with a few words that we desperately need to take heart deep.
- Remember I made you and everything else, so calm down and trust Me.
- Do not be afraid of this horrible thing you are facing.
- You are mine, I have you, trust Me.
- You’ve been in tighter spots than this before and I didn’t let you down, you can trust Me.
- I love you, you are precious to Me, trust that I want to help you.
- I am with you, right now, in the middle of this challenging situation.
- In fact, I love you so much that I call you daughter/son, by My own name.
- You have a job to do for Me (witness) are you doing it?
- Don’t forget I am the God who saves, no one else and nothing else can fix this for you.
- There are no other gods to help you, so stop trying to find a plan b.
- You are in this mess because I put you there. I am the only One who can get you out of the mess. Trust Me.
He is God. There is no one like Him.
What big challenging circumstance are you facing? He is the only One who can get you out of them.
Have you been trying to find an alternate way through without Him? Without changing? Without surrendering whatever you have been holding back from His hand?
I have too… It’s time to remember who He is, who I was before Him, what all He’s done… and be prepared for the new thing He wants to do today.
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How To Be Ready When God Does a New Thing In Your Life
Sometimes the big challenging circumstances in our lives are a direct result of sin or hardheartedness on our part. Other times, God wants to grow us or stretch us or use us in a new way and we need a season of refining.
At times I know which I am walking through. There are areas of sin in my life that I turn back to repeatedly. You?
Then there are times I can feel layers of pride being stripped away. Any other control freaks out there who God is continually trying to humble to surrender to His will and His Way? Ouch!
Other times, however, I can’t see sin or pride in my life driving the difficulties. Sometimes I can see it in my spouse – and that affects us all. But then there are seasons where I am flat-out blindsided by impossible situations. Yes, there is always sin, but it’s not always related.
I can feel Him, in those seasons, asking a single question. “Do you trust Me?”
When God does a new thing in your life you will have to:
- Trust Him like never before.
- Stop expecting a repeat performance
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Trust Like Never Before When God Does A New Thing
There is One God. The God who saves, who delivers, who rescues, who provides and protects. He made a big point out of that, that He is the only One who can save. So, when we stop looking for plan b, and stop trying to fix the mess ourselves, you would think God would just lay out the plan for the new thing. Nope. God doesn’t really roll that way.
He says, “Do you trust Me?”
He repeats, “Haven’t I proved myself to you yet?”
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Has God Proved Himself Faithful and Trustworthy To You?
Instead of a plan, He reminds them of some other ways He showed up and blew their minds as they faced impossible situations!
“This is what the Lord says,
He who makes a way through the sea
And a path through the mighty waters,
Who brings out the chariot and the horse,
The army and the mighty man
(They will lie down together and not rise again;
They have been extinguished, and have gone out like a wick):” (Isaiah 43:16-17 NASB)
Who else could split a sea? Can anyone else part a river so you walk through on dry land?
He reminded them that the sea was split to spare them from an angry army. That army was depending on false gods (just like the false gods they were giving in to worshiping in captivity in Babylon). What happened to that army? Drowned!
He is saying, “Haven’t I proved that I am more powerful than the fake gods you are worshipping?”
Maybe you don’t worship false gods… idolatry can look like more than that though. What do you turn to before God when things get hard? Entertainment, work, food, relationships, etc. All idols.
God is saying, before I do a new thing, I need to know that you trust Me. I need to know that you remember who I am and what I’ve done in the past to save you.
Do you remember?
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Lay Down Expectations When God Does A New Thing
Then it feels like God changes His mind.
“Do not call to mind the former things,
Or consider things of the past.
Behold, I am going to do something new,
Now it will spring up;
Will you not be aware of it?
I will even make a roadway in the wilderness,
Rivers in the desert.” (Isaiah 43:18-19 NASB)
It may feel like a sudden change, but really, God is saying something powerful here. He spent 17 verses reminding Isreal about who He is and what He had done before. Now He says, “Forget all that, I am doing a new thing!”
What does He mean then by, “Forget the former things?” Well, we are human and prone to dwell on the past and miss or criticize what is right in front of us. We are tempted to believe:
- The past was better.
- The best is behind us and what is now is lacking.
- He stopped doing big things.
Stop Expecting the Past Things
It’s as though God is saying,
“Yes, I moved before, and it was great, but stop trying to have it repeated.
“I’m going to do something new.
“I still do big, great things!
“As big as that was, the next thing is bigger.
“Stop longing for the past, stop romanticising the past. I am here, now. You will miss the new if you are only waiting for the old.”
Can you relate? I tend to want God to speak how He spoke before, move how He moved before, and do what He did before. That was good, it worked, I understand it now that I’m on this side of the mirracle.
God, however, is mysterious, wild, and unpredictable. He wants me to depend on Him and keep my eyes fixed on Him. That’s the point here. If I focus behind me, I miss what is ahead.
We have to stop expecting God to do what He did and look forward to what He wants to do!
God is Doing a New Thing; Are You Ready?
Nothing is impossible for God. He works miraculously. Yes, He sees the hard thing you are facing today. He loves you. You are His. He will do new thing, maybe even a miraculous thing, to shift it.
He will do it, if and when we are looking to HIM instead of longing for the past or wishing ourselves out of the now.
God is doing a new thing, are you ready for it today?
Do you trust Him?
Are you reminding yourself how faithful He has been?
Do you believe He loves you enough to move in these ways?
Are you asking Him for the new thing?
Will you let go of your expectations of Him and let Him be bigger than you could ever ask or imagine?
Those are the things He is challenging me with, in this impossible situation. Let’s lean into the challenge together!
in HIS love,
Tiffany of Hope Joy in Christ inspires Christian Women to grow in faith, live out Biblical Marriage Principles and raise Godly Children. Join the Wives Only Facebook Group here or keep up with her through Pinterest.
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