"Behold, I will do a new thing, now it shall spring forth; Shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness and rivers in the desert."
Isaiah 43:19
History and Context:
Isaiah is the prophet most quoted by Jesus and by
the New Testament authors. There are many Messianic prophecies throughout
Isaiah, but the real purpose of the book was to admonish the kings of Judah to
rely on the protection of God. Isaiah's ministry focused on the reign of two
different kings, Ahaz and Hezekiah. Ahaz did not listen to Isaiah and relied on
the protection of Assyria rather than God's protection. Hezekiah also didn't
listen at first but as things went bad he turned to God for protection and God
rescued the kingdom of Judah. Isaiah continually refers to God as "The Holy One
of Israel".
The Text:
Here Isaiah prophesies that God is going to spring forth with something new. We love to quote this verse as an encouragement to build hope when we feel like we have been doing the same old thing for too long. At the beginning of this year God gave me this verse as a word for 2014. As usual I took it as something exciting, which it is, but I didn't pay close attention to the verse. The second part states that God will "make a road in the wilderness". In other words in order to get to the exciting new thing we have to go through the wilderness. But the good news is God is going to make a way through. He then promises that as we take the road that He builds, He will make rivers in the desert.
The Challenge:
Maybe you, like me, were looking for something new to spring forth this year and haven't seen it. Maybe you felt like 2014 was a wilderness and you are just ready for 2015 to start. Don't be discouraged! God is making that road that you are walking on and He promises that He will pour out rivers into your desert. Just push through! It will happen!
The Prayer:
Lord, help me to see your road, your way, through this wilderness. Help me to keep my eyes focused on you and endure through to the new thing that you have prepared!
Remember also that the Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness to prepare Him for His ministry. On His way out the devil presented Him with offers that seemed too good to be true, but He stood firm on the Word and continued to walk in the will of God. If you are going through a wilderness, do as Jesus did and stand firm on the Word and trust that God will lead you in the right direction.
ReplyDeleteThat's a good point Terence. It is often in the wilderness that God prepares us for our future ministry, bringing us from "glory to glory". We must stand on the written Word and also on the word that God has spoken to us, knowing in faith that it will come to pass.
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