Something New
Isaiah 43:19
I am about to do a new thing.
Have you ever bought something new or at least new to you? It’s a joy to have
something new and shiny in our lives. Sometimes it’s a new car, a new shirt, new ring,
new….. you can fill in the blanks. Everyone at some point and time has received or
bought something new. They gleamed with joy at the new thing and the joy was
eminent to others as they showed it off in all its glory. Then after the luster fades the
new thing becomes the same old same old leaving us longing to find another thing to
fall into. The new car you worked hard for gets its’ first dent or the new shoes were
worn out into a storm. The newness fades when the shine has a little dirt on it or the
white in the sole becomes a little dingy. We are often left in the same place once again,
looking for something new to stir up the same zeal and passion we once had for what is
now an old thing.
Yet I’m often intrigued by the way we are unattracted to new things as well. Sometimes
we have an aversion to something new and shiny, especially if it is different or maybe
uncomfortable. These things we will often avoid or diminish as if the shine might blind
our vision for other things of importance. We may even go so far as to tell others they
too should avoid this new thing because there’s no telling where it may take them if
they get too attached. If we don’t want it or it brings us too much discomfort, then no
one else should want it for us or themselves either. The unintended consequence of
dismissing the unwanted new thing is we will be left feeling empty or lost because we
haven’t seen anything new in a while. We search for the answers and maybe blame
others all the while the new thing was there, just not what we expected.
Jeremiah 43:19 is written about God’s people going into a new thing. Things were
changing and uncertain, the people were anxious and nervous. God was confirming in
His people a new thing he was about to do. It would be shiny and exciting but yet also
mean discomfort and hard work if His people were to succeed. God was willing but
were the people willing to accept the new and shiny thing?
Sometimes something new is exciting, sometimes it’s terrifying. Either way it will often
lead people to new experiences they would have never received on their own or in
church, people we may have never met. I’m asked all the time, how do we…..? We must
allow God to do a new thing for His people. Notice there it reads “for His People”. New
things are, in most cases, for our benefit, not our harm. It’s the secret sauce that at
some point was a new sauce, the favorite hymn that at some point was a new hymn, or
the neighbor that at some point was a new neighbor. Everything we value was a new
thing at some point. The question is whether or not we find value in the new thing God
is doing for us in the here and now. Some may love it, some may not, but we must
always remember that to get somewhere new, sometimes God must do a work we
could never do ourselves. It’s not that what we are doing isn’t good but sometimes for
God to do His best work we need a new thing.
Keep The Faith,
Pastor Tommy
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