“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.” — Isaiah 43:19 (ESV)
There was a season of my life where all I could see was the wilderness. The dry places. The deserts I had made with my own hands. I thought the barrenness was my final address — that I would live and die thirsty.
But God never spoke to me about staying there. He spoke about rivers.
Notice what He says in this verse: “I am doing a new thing.” Not “I might.” Not “I will, someday, if you get it together first.” I am doing it. Present tense. Right now. Before you ever see a drop of water, God is already at work underneath the surface, because the new thing springs forth before our eyes ever catch it.
Maybe that’s where you are tonight. You’re looking at the desert — the broken relationship, the addiction, the shame, the years you can’t get back — and you’re asking, “God, where are You in this?” He’s right there, making a way where there was no way. That’s what He does. He doesn’t wait for the wilderness to fix itself. He cuts a road through it. He doesn’t wait for the desert to bloom on its own. He sends a river.
And then comes the question that undoes me every time: “Do you not perceive it?” God is asking us to lift our eyes off what’s dead and start looking for what’s springing up. The new thing rarely announces itself with trumpets. It shows up like a shoot of green in dry ground — a small yes, a quiet change of heart, a door you didn’t build opening anyway.
So tonight, whatever your wilderness looks like, hear Him: the new thing has already begun. You may not see the river yet, but you can trust the One who promised it. He made a way for me when there was no way. He will make one for you.
Father, thank You that You are the God of the new thing. Open my eyes to perceive what You’re already doing, even in the dry places. I trust You to make a way in my wilderness and to send rivers through my desert. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
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