God Declares 'A New Thing' | Isaiah 43:19

The book of Isaiah is the first of the writings of the prophets in the Bible. This book gives an account of the message from God to the nation of Israel through the Prophet Isaiah. Israel had been in a state of complete rebellion and disobedience towards God. They had made idols for themselves and chosen to put their idols above the name of God. They had chosen to oppress the poor and had completely rebelled against the covenant that God had created with them. Simply put, they were doing everything that God had told them not to do. So Isaiah’s message to the nation of Israel (from Isaiah chapter 1-39) was one of repentance. He was calling the nation of Israel to turn from their sin, rebellion and disobedience and turn towards their loving Heavenly Father. He was warning them that if they did not, then things would go terribly wrong for them. And it did… the Israelites continued to rebel against God and as a result, they ended up losing everything and being taken into captivity by the Babylonians.Their disobedience had lead to disaster and God’s judgement was upon them. They had lost all hope.  Buttttt, Isaiah still had a message of hope for the hopeless nation of Israel (Isaiah chapter 40-66). Even after their disobedience, rebellion and oppression; God was about to do a new thing for His chosen people.

Isaiah’s message in Isaiah 43:19 was a promise from God to His people; a promise of victory after all of their oppression. God had heard their cries, the oppression was over, God’s judgment had come to end – God was comforting them. He was making a promise to them – their trials and tribulations were over and He was about to do something completely new; something they had never seen before.  He was about to make a way for them in the wilderness and a river in the desert – something no one else could do but Him. The same power that made a way in the sea would make a way in the wilderness – creating a passage through the greatest difficulty. They wouldn’t have to wander around aimlessly like they had before. They wouldn’t be lost with no sense of direction. If they were willing, God would lead them and guide them towards victory! But only if they were willing.

Whether you had a good or bad year last year, the idea of heading into 2020 can be quite daunting. If you had a bad year last year, you might be anxious thinking “how could it possibly get any worse?oh my, 2020 might be even worse?!”. And even If you’ve had a good year last year, you might still be quite anxious thinking “well surely 2020 can’t live up to 2019, something is bound to go wrong” (FYI, that’s kinda how I have been feeling). In reality, we have no idea what to expect this year because we’ve never been here before. I guess you could say that 2020 is like our ‘wilderness’ – it’s an uninhabited area that no one has lived in. And although we do not know what this year holds we know who holds this year… the same God who declares a new thing. And I believe that He declares ‘a new thing’ to each one of us as we enter into 2020. He declares that He will make a road in our wilderness to guide us through our year. It’s a New Year with new prospects, new things serving the same God. He’s the same God who created the heavens and the earth from absolutely nothing. He’s the same God who parted the Red Sea. And, He’s the same God who declares that He is able to create a road where there isn’t one. He can make dry, uninhabited land flow with abundance. So He is more than able to create a way to lead us through our wilderness that exists in 2020. We don’t have to go through the year aimlessly. He will lead us as long as we are willing to be lead.

THE PAST HAS PASSED SO FOCUS ON THE PRESENT.

You cannot change what happened in 2019! You do not have a time machine to go back in time and change the way that things turned out (although I’m sure that some of us would love one). In reality, It doesn’t matter what 2019 was like because if God has declared that He will do a new thing this year, He will. Yes, It’s great to acknowledge what may have gone wrong last year so that you can make the changes that you need to see a difference this year. But you cannot allow the pain and frustration from last year to be your focus right now because it can easily hinder your progression in 2020. What you need to do is;

Acknowledge the problem and focus on the solution.

Maybe 2019 didn’t go the way that you expected it to go because of your own disobedience. Instead of following God, you may have decided to do things your own way. If that’s the case then repent, trust Him to do a new thing this year and follow Him.

Maybe the enemy has been trying to distract you in 2019 and that’s the reason why your year didn’t turn out the way that you expected it to. Remember that you are a Daughter of God, the enemy knows your potential. He sees that you have a mighty purpose inside of you so he will do anything that He can do to lead you astray. If that’s the case then pray, stay focused and trust God to do a new thing this year.

There are soooo many other reasons why 2019 may not have gone the way that you had expected it to go but let’s remember what God says;

Purposeful Activities; 

Take some time to journal your thoughts

• What lessons from last year will you be taking into this year?
• What changes are you hoping to see this year?

If you use a prayer journal, tell God how you are feeling about last year and this year. Write down your anxieties, worries and frustration or write down your thanksgiving and praise.