The Joy of Doing a New Thing

“For the Lord your God has blessed you in all the work of your hand. He knows your trudging through this great wilderness. These forty years the Lord your God has been with you; you have lacked nothing.”
Deuteronomy 2:7 NKJV

I came upon this verse a couple of weeks ago during my morning reading. It made me stop and ponder the last forty years of my life. During my journey I’ve experienced great joy and have lacked nothing.
Elvis Presley died August 16th, 1977 – the same week that I had my cancer operation. I’ve come to realize that every day truly is a gift from God, and I know that my King – the true “King” – is not dead.
I read one person’s description of joy, and it goes like this: “Joy, the settled assurance that God is in control of all the details of my life. The quiet confidence that everything is going to be alright and the determined choice to praise God in every situation.”
So, I asked myself, “What would keep me from perceiving what God is doing in my life?” Maybe it’s expecting Him to part the Red Sea again. That was such an amazing story and we never get tired of hearing it. The miracle at the Red Sea was beyond anyone’s ability to speculate or guess, but there are new things God wants to do for us that are beyond anything we can fathom or imagine. I’ve come to recognize that the Lord is forever doing new things.
“Do not remember the former things, nor consider the things of old. 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 43:18-19 NKJV

God says: “I am doing a new thing. I know it doesn’t feel the way it used to feel, but I’m still faithful. I know it doesn’t look the way it used to look, but I’m still faithful. I know some things have changed in our country, but I’m still faithful – because I am the Lord.”
God says: “I am the Alpha and the Omega.”
A lot of us get stuck in a beta blessing and we can’t receive an upgrade because we are stuck in the way God used to do things. Forget not His faithfulness, but forget the form that it came in. Whatever is next is better. God knows our future. He wants to bless us where we are.
God is doing a new thing, and many times He withholds telling us in order to keep us from trying to anticipate His ways and thereby limit Him. Our part in this new thing is to let Him work in us a readiness to respond. When God says He’s going to do a new thing there’s something very reassuring about the fact that it will be done right.
It doesn’t matter if we know what the “new thing” is or not. Our hearts can be filled with hope knowing that God is going to do it; and we know that when He does, it will be enough to handle the situation, no matter how impossible it may seem.
During my journey there have been many chapters in my story and God has directed each step – drawing me closer to Him. I recognize that God certainly is in the details of my life, and yes, I have to make the determined choice to praise Him in every situation.
What the Lord wants us to understand when He says He’s going to do a new thing, is that it is already in the process. You can’t see it yet, but it is set in motion. God’s new thing will prepare you for whatever is to come, and out of it, you will find themes for your praise unto Him.
Max Lucado wrote: “God never said that the journey would be easy, but He did say that the arrival would be worthwhile.”
-Pastor Dave