Isaiah 43:16-21 Let it Go
16 Thus says the Lord,
who makes a way in the sea,
a path in the mighty waters,
17 who brings out chariot and horse,
army and warrior;
they lie down, they cannot rise,
they are extinguished, quenched like a wick:
18 Do not remember the former things,
or consider the things of old.
19 I am about to do a new thing;
now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?
I will make a way in the wilderness
and rivers in the desert.
20 The wild animals will honor me,
the jackals and the ostriches;
for I give water in the wilderness,
rivers in the desert,
to give drink to my chosen people,
21 the people whom I formed for myself
so that they might declare my praise.
What does the Passage say?
V. 16-17 Our God is an agent of change. God makes the way, in time and places that we don’t see the path.
V. 18-19 The Lord promises us to bring a new change. Don’t put your minds in the old things, but anticipate what God is doing new.
V. 20-21 The change the Lord is bringing is to bless his people. It is to show who God is. It is to have the creation declare the name of the Lord.
What does this Passage say to me/ us?
In Revelation 21:5, Jesus says, ‘I am making all things new.’ We read this verse often in funeral services. It is to show the new heaven and kingdom the deceased is entering. Yes, we do have hope in the new kingdom to come, when we end our life and see our Lord face to face.
However, God’s plan of starting something new does not remain in the time we face death. God is working and doing a new thing in the world, all the time, even as we read this verse. The problem is that we don’t see it.
As, Isaiah says, “I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?” (v. 19 NRSV). It is us who do not see God’s plan. It is us, who hold onto the old things when God is presenting something new.
How is God working in your life?
What is blocking us to see the work of God?
Lord, help us to see what you are doing in our lives. Help us to see your working hand, making everything new. May we be part of your work.
In your name, Jesus Christ, we pray, AMEN
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