Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old.
Behold, I am doing 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. (Isa. 43:18-19 ESV)
New Things
The New Year’s Eve celebration in Sydney, Australia went terribly wrong.
The billboard announcing the arrival of the new year mistakenly presented: HAPPY NEW YEAR, 2018!
And the world smiled. Those silly Ozzies.
But maybe they actually got it right.
Who doesn’t like new things? Even though we respect traditions, collect antiques, and look back fondly to the good ole days, New Things are exciting!
Think about the recent celebration-days. Few of us wrap used toys and put them under the Christmas tree. “Re-gifting,” while economically wise, is usually viewed with disdain.
And of course, New Year’s Day, while looking backward and forward, focusses more on the coming year than on last year’s activities. We don’t make Old Year Resolutions. We don’t cheer as we throw away last year’s calendar.
Unless you were in Sydney this year.
The context of Isaiah’s statement is paramount. God isn’t promising us to always give us bright shining New Things. He isn’t merely encouraging us to be forward thinking, constantly updating, bigger and better, replacement mentality type of people.
When He promises us that He will make all things new, it is in the context of the terrible status of the past. He doesn’t just promise to ‘make a way…’ He promises to make a way (a road, a pathway, a solution) through the (empty, dark, scary) wilderness.
When He promises us that He will give us ‘rivers in the desert…’ He promises to give us rivers (reliable providence, a connection to community, constant freshness) instead of the desert of yesterday (loneliness, thirst, fear, death.)
The ‘New’ is contrasted with the Old. Always
Tomorrow He makes all things New! He gives a fresh start. A SECOND chance. A FIXED tomorrow of yesterday’s BROKENNESS.